Catheter-Mediated Delivery of Recombinant Adenovirus to the Vessel Wall to Inhibit Restenosis

Although percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is widely used for the treatment of coronary artery disease, its therapeutic efficacy is still limited by the occurrence of restenosis in 20–50% of all patients [1]. Restenosis following PTCA is a complex process characterized by progressive arterial remodeling [2], extracellular matrix deposition [3, 4], smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and hyperplasia [4]. Except for probucol [5,6], pharmacological agents have consistently failed to demonstrate a clear beneficial effect on restenosis in large randomized clinical trials [1,7].