Shutting off plaque's lifeline of blood
A study in mice shows that drugs designed to restrict the growth of new blood vessels also limit the size of plaques, the gummy substances in arteries that can cause heart disease.
References:
Moulton, K.S., et al. 1999. Angiogenesis inhibitors endostatin or TNP-470 reduce intimal neovascularization and plaque growth in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Circulation 99(April 6):1726.
Further Readings:
Braunwald, E. 1997. Shattuck lecture—Cardiovascular medicine at the turn of the millennium: Triumphs, concerns, and opportunities. New England Journal of Medicine 337(Nov. 6):1360.
Folkman, J. 1995. Clinical applications of research on angiogenesis. New England Journal of Medicine 333(Dec. 28):1757.
______. 1993. Tumor angiogenesis. In Cancer Medicine, J.F. Holland, E. Frei III, R.C. Bust Jr., D.W. Kute, D.L. Morton, R.R. Weichselbaum, eds. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.
Isner, J.M. 1999. Cancer and atherosclerosis. Circulation 99(April 6):1653.
Kwon, H.M., et al. 1998. Enhanced coronary vasa vasorum neovascularization in experimental hypercholesterolemia. Journal of Clinical Investigation 101:1551.
Polverni, P.J., et al. 1977. Activated macrophages induce vascular proliferation. Nature 269:804.
Sources:
Jan L. Breslow
Rockefeller University
Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism
1230 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Karen S. Moulton
Children's Hospital
Surgical Research Laboratory Enders 10
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 15, April 10, 1999, p. 229. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
