A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Ad5FGF-4 Gene Therapy and its Effect on Myocardial Perfusion in Patients with Stable Angina

Cindy L. Grines, Matthew W. Watkins, John J. Mahmarian, Ami E. Iskandrian, Jeffrey J. Rade, Pran Marrott, Craig Pratt, Neal Kleiman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

256 Scopus citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to determine whether intracoronary administration of the adenoviral gene for fibroblast growth factor (Ad5FGF-4) can improve myocardial perfusion compared with placebo. BACKGROUND: Animal studies and observational clinical studies have shown improvement in perfusion of the ischemic myocardium using genes encoding angiogenic growth factors; however, randomized, double-blind data in humans are lacking. METHODS: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of intracoronary injection of 1010 adenoviral particles containing a gene encoding fibroblast growth factor (Ad5FGF-4) to determine the effect on myocardial perfusion. Fifty-two patients with stable angina and reversible ischemia comprising >9% of the left ventricle on adenosine single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging were randomized to gene therapy (n = 35) or placebo (n = 17). Clinical follow-up was performed, and 51 (98%) patients underwent a second adenosine SPECT scan after 8 weeks. RESULTS: Overall (n = 52), the mean total perfusion defect size at baseline was 32.4% of the left ventricle, with 20% reversible ischemia and 12.5% scar. At eight weeks, Ad5FGF-4 injection resulted in a significant reduction of ischemic defect size (4.2% absolute, 21% relative; p < 0.001) and placebo-treated patients had no improvement (p = 0.32). Although the change in reversible perfusion defect size between Ad5FGF-4 and placebo was not significant (4.2% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.14), when a single outlier was excluded a significant difference was observed (4.2% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.05). Ad5FGF-4 was well tolerated and did not result in any permanent adverse sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Intracoronary injection of Ad5FGF-4 showed an encouraging trend for improved myocardial perfusion; however, further studies of therapeutic angiogenesis with Ad5FGF-4 will be necessary.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1339-1347
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American College of Cardiology
Volume42
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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