Gene Therapy for Kidney Failure

Researchers at the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in San Francisco recently reported that a new technique can deliver gene therapy directly to blood vessels in patients with kidney failure who undergo dialysis.

Currently, the most common method of providing access to the circulatory system for dialysis involves inserting an artificial blood vessel (graft) under the skin in the forearm or upper arm and surgically sewing it to the natural blood vessels. Over time, the inserted blood vessels block the area where the grafts are sewn to the vein. Patients then must have another procedure to clean out the existing artificial vein or to place a tube in the body to restore vascular access.

"There is currently no medication, secret sauce or magic wand to keep the veins of dialysis patients from scarring and growing closed," said Jeffrey Lawson, M.D., Ph.D., from Duke University in Durham, N.C.

The study evaluated the effect of Trinam a molecular medicine consisting of vascular endothelial growth factor gene (VEGF) in an adenovirus on dialysis patients' access grafts. VEGF controls and regulates the growth of blood vessels and also releases molecules from the surface of cells lining blood vessels to reduce the likelihood of blood clots. In animal studies, the therapy reduced the rate of vein scarring, suggesting that it may prolong the life of dialysis access grafts (Ivanhoe News Service).