Method of drug delivery to interstitial regions of the myocardium
First Claim
1. A system for delivering a drug to the heart of a patient, said system comprising:
- a catheter capable of delivering a plurality of liposomes to the heart of the patient;
a source of liposomes adapted for fluid communication with the catheter, said source containing a plurality of liposomes, and wherein each of the plurality of liposomes has a half-life within the body of the patient of less than about sixty minutes; and
a drug encased within at least one of the plurality of liposomes.
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Abstract
A method of treating the heart and other body tissues by injecting a compound comprised of microsphere encapsulated macromolecule therapeutic agents into the myocardium, such that the microsphere size inhibits capillary transport of the compound but may permit lymphatic transport of the compound, and the compound releases therapeutic agents upon degradation of the microsphere. The compounds may be used in a method of treating the coronary arteries in which lymphatic transportable therapeutic agents are injected into the myocardium at a location distal to a target site in the coronary artery, after which they are taken up by the lymphatic vessels and transported proximally relative to the coronary artery, and migrate from the lymphatic vessel to the coronary blood vessel.
51 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for delivering a drug to the heart of a patient, said system comprising:
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a catheter capable of delivering a plurality of liposomes to the heart of the patient;
a source of liposomes adapted for fluid communication with the catheter, said source containing a plurality of liposomes, and wherein each of the plurality of liposomes has a half-life within the body of the patient of less than about sixty minutes; and
a drug encased within at least one of the plurality of liposomes.
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2. A system for delivering an agent to the heart of a patient, said system comprising:
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a catheter capable of delivering a microsphere to the heart of the patient;
a source of microspheres adapted for fluid communication with the catheter, said source containing the microsphere;
wherein the agent is disposed within the microsphere;
wherein the agent is adapted to be taken-up by the lymphatic system of the heart, transported proximally relative to a coronary artery of the heart, and thereafter to migrate from the lymphatic system into the coronary artery at a site proximal from a location of injection. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for delivering a therapeutic agent to the heart of a patient, said system comprising:
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a catheter capable of delivering the therapeutic agent to the heart of the patient;
a source of agents adapted for fluid communication with the catheter, said source containing the therapeutic agent;
wherein the therapeutic agent is in the form of a plurality of microspheres which are degradable in the body, said plurality of microspheres comprising a first group of microspheres sized to permit entry into the lymphatic system in a first time period, and a second group of microspheres sized to inhibit entry into the lymphatic system in the first time period. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. An infusion system for delivering a drug to the heart of a patient, said system comprising:
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an infusion device adapted for implantation within the body of the patient, said infusion device capable of delivering a liposome to the heart of the patient, and said infusion system operably connected to the heart of the patient;
wherein the drug is encased within the liposome, the liposome having a half-life within the body of the patient of less than about sixty minutes, the liposome disposed such that the infusion device may deliver the liposome. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A method of treating cardiac arrhythmia in a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing an infusion system for delivering an anti-arrhythmic agent to the heart of the patient, said system comprising;
an infusion device adapted for implantation within the body of the patient, said infusion device capable of delivering a liposome to the heart of the patient, and said infusion system operably connected to the heart of the patient;
wherein the anti-arrhythmic agent is encased within the liposome, the liposome having a half-life within the body of the patient of less than about sixty minutes, the liposome disposed such that the infusion device may deliver the liposome;
implanting the infusion device within the body of the patient; and
delivering the liposome to the heart of the patient with the infusion system. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of treating the heart of a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
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delivering a dose of a first macromolecular agent to a depth within the heart muscle, said dose delivered in the form of a first plurality of microspheres encapsulating molecules of the first macromolecular agent; and
controlling the release of the molecules of the first macromolecular agent from the first plurality of microspheres. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification