Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Aug;71(4):177-81.
doi: 10.1007/s12262-009-0059-7. Epub 2009 Sep 2.

Stem cell therapy for critical limb ischaemia - a review

Anjan Kumar Das  1
Affiliations

Stem cell therapy for critical limb ischaemia - a review

Anjan Kumar Das. Indian J Surg. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Critical limb ischaemia is an intractable condition associated with high levels of amputation, leading to a low quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality. It is often not treatable by standard therapeutic modalities. Neoangiogenesis has been proposed as a novel method of treatment of such patients. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cytokine fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1) have been shown to elicit neoangiogenesis. Stem cells are progenitor cells which can differentiate in vivo into different types of cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of adult stem cells which have an immunomodulatory effect. Stem cell therapy has been used in animal studies to improve limb vascularity in rat and rabbit models. Several clinical studies have also validated their use for critical limb ischaemia. However many issues are still unresolved. These include the dosage, delivery and safety issues in relation to stem cell therapy. However stem cells are likely to be an important therapeutic modality to treat critical limb ischaemia in the near future.

Keywords: Critical limb ischaemia; Neoangiogenesis; Stem cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Norgren L., Hiatt W.R., Dormandy J.A., Nehler M.R., Harris K.A., Fowkes F.G. Inter-Society Consensus for the Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease (TASC II) Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2007;33:S1–S75. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2006.09.024. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hirsch A.T., Criqui M.H., Treat-Jacobson D., et al. Peripheral arterial disease detection, awareness, and treatment in primary care. JAMA. 2001;286:1317–1324. doi: 10.1001/jama.286.11.1317. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anon (1996) Critical Limb Ischaemia: management and outcome: Report of a National Survey: The Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Eur J Endovac Surg 12: 131–135 - PubMed
    1. Anon (2005) Lower extremity disease among persons aged > or=40 years with and without diabetes—United States, 1999–2002. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 54: 1158–1160 - PubMed
    1. Dormandy J.A., Rutherford R.B. Management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). TASC Working Group. TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) J Vasc Surg. 2000;31:S1–S296. doi: 10.1016/S0741-5214(00)70062-0. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources