Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a myocardial disease of dogs and humans characterized\nby progressive ventricular dilation and depressed contractility and it is a frequent cause of heart\nfailure. Conventional pharmacological therapy cannot reverse the progression of the disease and,\nin humans, cardiac transplantation remains the only option during the final stages of heart failure.\nCytoprotective gene therapy with vascular endothelial growth factor-B167 (VEGF-B167) has proved\nan effective alternative therapy, halting the progression of the disease in experimental studies on\ndogs. The aim of this work was to test the tolerability and feasibility of intracoronary administration,\nunder fluoroscopic guidance, of VEGF-B167 carried by adeno-associated viral vectors in canine DCM\npatients. Ten patients underwent the gene delivery procedure. The intraoperative phase was well\ntolerated by all dogs. Clinical and echocardiographic assessments at 7- and 30-days post-procedure\nshowed stable conditions compared to the pre-procedure phase. The results of this work indicate\nthat intracoronary VEGF-B167 gene delivery is feasible and tolerated in dogs with DCM. Further\nmonitoring/investigations are ongoing to evaluate the effects of this therapy on disease progression.
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