Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 13, Issue 35, 2007

Angiogenesis, a process of growing new vasculature from pre-existing vessels, is a phenomenon that is the focus of investigation of many laboratories. The pharmacological research targeting this process is related into two aspects, inhibition of pathological angiogenesis such as in cancer development, and therapeutic angiogenesis promoting a vessel growth during several cardiovascular disorders. Highly advance Read More

Malignant glioma represents one of the most lethal and angiogenic cancers. Angiogenesis is a fundamental process of blood vessel growth that is a hallmark of cancer. Although several molecular mechanisms contribute to tumor angiogenesis in gliomas, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway appears particularly important and has been a prominent therapeutic target in cancer treatment. Several preclinical stu Read More

Thrombospondin (TSP)-1 and -2 are potent inhibitors of angiogenesis in vivo and of microvascular endothelial cell responses to angiogenic factors in vitro. The anti-angiogenic activity of thrombospondins is contained in a structural domain known as the TSP type I repeat or TSR. TSR domains are present in many other proteins, several of which have also been shown to have anti-angiogenic activity and a peptide-mimetic drug Read More

It is well established that human tumors overproduce plasmin a serine protease that is known to promote angiogenesis, tumor growth and metastasis. However, the mechanism by which endothelial or tumor cells regulate the proteolytic activity of plasmin is not well understood. Cell surface receptors regulate activation of plasminogen to plasmin and its proteolytic activity. Annexin II is one of the well studied receptor Read More

The development of novel treatment strategies for therapy of angiogenesis-dependent diseases requires identification of specific tumor endothelial cell markers to which therapeutic agents can be targeted. This can be achieved by random or targeted approaches. Random approaches are based on genomic screening to identify differences between normal and activated endothelium. Targeted approaches utilize known angi Read More

Although anti- angiogenesis strategies have generated much enthusiasm for therapeutic applications, it is still unknown whether they would be feasible for prevention. The possibility of interfering very early in tumor progression by modulating the cancer angiogenic switch is appealing. In this chapter, we review progress with in vitro and in vivo models that show that anti-angiogenic interventions may be amenable to long- Read More

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) describes vascular disorders associated with ischemia and PAD affects about 8 million people in the United States. Moreover, PAD's prevalence can increase dramatically if cardiovascular disease is present. In healthy individuals reducing blood flow through the lower extremity is followed by a physiological process to limit ischemia in the distal tissue. This process is called revasculariz Read More

Sufficient blood perfusion is essential for all tissues to guarantee nutrient- and gas exchange. As many diseases are induced by the reduction of blood perfusion such that these tissues gradually loose their ability to function properly, therapeutic angiogenesis aims to increase blood flow in ischemic tissues by stimulating the patient's endogenous capacity to develop new blood vessels. These studies include application of ang Read More

Angiogenesis, the development of blood vessels from the pre-existing vasculature, is a key component of embryogenesis and tissue regeneration. Angiogenesis also drives pathologies such as tumor growth and metastasis, and hemangioma development in newborns. On the other hand, promotion of angiogenesis is needed in tissues with vascular insufficiencies, and in bioengineering, to endow tissue substitutes with appr Read More

Statins are pluripotent agents exhibiting multiple non-lipid-lowering actions. Besides their established role in the management of hypercholesterolemia, statins may also have beneficial actions in other pathological conditions, namely: a) osteoporosis and osteoporosis- related bone fractures, b) cancer, c) solid organ transplantation, d) cerebrovascular events (transient ischemic attack and stroke episodes), e) v Read More

There is now a large body of evidence that weight loss in older persons not only increases mortality, but also increases the incidence of hip fracture, functional deterioration and institutionalization. Weight loss is a central component of frailty. There is evidence that it is not only muscle, but also fat loss that leads to these deleterious effects. The reasons why fat loss can be harmful in older persons are reviewed. There ar Read More