Too Many Blood Vessels—Or Too Few
Some 60 diseases are linked to the excessive or restricted formation of blood vessels. Here is a sampling of research, at various stages, into flipping the angiogenesis switch on or off.
By Anita Slomski // Spring 2006
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Some 60 diseases are linked to the excessive or restricted formation of blood vessels. Here is a sampling of research, at various stages, into flipping the angiogenesis switch on or off.
DISEASE/CONDITION |
ROLE OF PRO/ANTIANGIOGENESIS THERAPY |
TREATMENT STATUS |
Cancer | Attempts to block essential growth factors that many cancers need to establish the blood supplies that allow them to grow and proliferate. | Approved drugs include Avastin, for colorectal cancer; Endostar (in China) for lung cancer; Iressa, for lung cancer; Velcade, for multiple myeloma; Sorafenib, for kidney cancer. | Wet macular degeneration | Halts development of abnormal blood vessels that leak blood and fluid into the eye, causing scarring and loss of vision. | Macugen is approved to treat macular degeneration; Lucentis, pending approval; Avastin, being used "off label." | Diabetic retinopathy | Could decrease excess growth and restore normal permeability of weak capillaries in danger of rupturing or depositing damaging proteins in the retina. | Eventually, Macugen and Lucentis may be tested for treatment of diabetic retinopathy. | Psoriasis | Could slow the growth of blood vessels that appear to exacerbate the excessive production of scaly skin, which characterizes psoriasis, and other diseases that involve chronic inflammation. | Both MEDI-522 and Curcuminoids C3 Complex, derived from turmeric, are in Phase II trials to inhibit blood vessel formation. | Coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial disease | Stimulates collateral blood vessel growth to feed oxygen-starved tissue, the result of coronary arteries narrowed by plaque. In early-stage coronary disease, antiangiogenic therapy might even help prevent plaque growth. | In lab studies, endostatin has blocked 85% of atherosclerotic plaque in mice. |
