The strategy views blood vessel growth and inhibition as the linchpin in certain diseases. Stopping the growth of blood vessels from tumors, for instance, means there is no highway for metastasis, the spread of cancer from its primary site. On the other hand, increasing blood vessel growth can help ischemic, or blood-starved, hearts. In adults, the network of blood vessels is stable.
Normal angiogenesis occurs during the menstrual cycle and when the body needs to repair wounds.
Researchers at universities and drug companies large and small are in the process of developing drugs to enhance or stymie angiogenesis. Originally prescribed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to combat morning sickness, the drug caused fetal deformities. The Food and Drug Administration banned it in the United States, although it was used widely in Europe. Research focusing on the growth of blood vessels has produced surprising basic findings as well as impressive clinical results. Neuropilin, a receptor on nerve cells for peptides that mediate neuron guidance, is also found on blood vessel cells, according to Klagsbrun.