Critical limb ischaemia (CLI) is the most-severe clinical manifestation of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and is associated with a high risk of amputation and death. Therapeutic angiogenesis is an approach to stimulating blood vessel growth to improve tissue perfusion, and has the potential to benefit patients with CLI for whom revascularization is not an option. Here, Brian Annex reviews data from clinical trials of therapeutic angiogenesis in patients with PAD, and discusses how advances in systems biology, genetics, and gene therapy might be used in new approaches to this therapy.
