Gene and cell therapy for chronic ischaemic heart disease

Viable treatment options are becoming available for the 'no-option' patient with chronic ischaemic heart disease. Instead of revascularising the highly diseased epicardial coronary arteries, scientists and clinicians have been looking at augmenting mother nature's way of providing biological bypass in an attempt to provide symptomatic relief in these patients. The novel use of gene and cell therapies for myocardial neovascularisation has exploded into a flurry of early clinical trials. This translational research has been motivated by an improved understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in tissue repair after ischaemic injury. While safety concerns will be top in priority in these trials, different types or combination of therapies, dose and route of delivery are being tested before further optimisation and establishment. With cautious optimism, a new era in the treatment of ischaemic heart disease is being entered. This article reviews the present state in gene and cell therapies for ischaemic heart disease, the modalities of their delivery, novel imaging techniques and future perspectives.