Claims
- 1. A method for treating a blood vessel, said method comprising injecting an estrogen into a location beyond the endothelium of the blood vessel.
- 2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the blood vessel is an artery.
- 3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the artery is a coronary artery.
- 4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the estrogen is an estradiol.
- 5. A method as in claim 4, wherein the estradiol is selected from the group consisting of 17-beta-estradiol and estradiol cypionate.
- 6. A method as in claim 1, wherein the blood vessel is at risk of hyperplasia.
- 7. A method as in claim 6, wherein the estrogen is injected proximate the region of hyperplasia risk.
- 8. A method as in claim 1, wherein the blood vessel has regions of vulnerable plaque.
- 9. A method as in claim 8, wherein the estrogen is injected proximate a region of vulnerable plaque.
- 10. A method as in claim 1, wherein injecting comprises introducing a catheter into a lumen of the blood vessel and advancing a needle from the catheter, wherein the estrogen is injected through the needle.
- 11. A method as in claim 10, wherein the needle is advanced into a perivascular space beyond the outside of the endothelium.
- 12. A method as in claim 11, wherein the needle is advanced into the adventia surrounding the blood vessel.
- 13. A method as in claim 1, wherein the estrogen is injected in an amount sufficient to permeate circumferentially around the endothelium and into the adventia over an axial length of at least 1 cm.
- 14. A method as in claim 1, wherein the needle is advanced in a radial direction to a depth in the adventitia equal to at least 10% of the mean luminal diameter at the blood vessel location.
- 15. A method as in claim 14, wherein the depth is a distance in the range from 10% to 50% of the mean luminal diameter.
- 16. A system for treating a blood vessel, said system comprising:
an amount of an estrogen, and an intravascular catheter having a needle for injecting the estrogen into a location beyond the endothelium of the blood vessel.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is claiming the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/430,993 (Attorney Docket No. 21621-001300US), filed on Dec. 3, 2002, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60430993 |
Dec 2002 |
US |