
The use of MPCs to promote growth
of new blood vessels will have direct application for
patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) who
number more than eight million in the US alone. Risk
factors for PAD are similar to those for coronary artery
disease.
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They include high blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and obesity.
Most patients with significant PAD have diabetes, and the most common symptom is leg pain associated with exertion.
In severe cases, inadequate blood flow to the feet causes ulceration of wounds which fail to heal and can become gangrenous. |
Thirty per cent of patients with existing PAD will
ultimately require angioplasty to open the affected
artery, and 10 per cent will require amputation of the
affected limb within five to 10 years of diagnosis.
Currently, there are more than 400,000 angioplasty procedures
for PAD in the US. The number is expected to approach
640,000 by the end of 2005.
Angioblast plans to develop an MPC product for direct injection into the diseased artery at the time of angioplasty to increase the likelihood of long-term survival of the limb.
The Technology
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