Angiogenesis Therapies for Coronary Artery Disease: Trials and Tribulations

The development of therapeutic angiogenesis promises to revolutionize the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) by providing, for the first time, means to medically restore circulation to ischemic areas of the heart. Because of such promise, this area of therapeutics has undergone rapid development over the last decade. Much has been learned, both in terms of biology of angiogenesis and the development strategies. This chapter will attempt to summarize some of these lessons. It will begin with a historical background and then will consider key issues related to therapeutic angio-genesis: the choice of therapeutic agent, delivery strategy, selection of patient population, assessment of therapeutic benefit, and the placebo effect.