Abstract:
The present invention encompasses methods and apparatus for aiding in aneurysm treatment and repair. Embodiments according to the present invention provide a method for supporting or bolstering the aneurismal site in an individual with cross-linked proteins from the individual&#39;s blood.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/575,008 filed May 27, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The field of the invention is the treatment of vascular abnormalities.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Aortic aneurysms pose a significant medical problem for the general population. Aneurysms within the aorta presently affect between two and seven percent of the general population and the rate of incidence appears to be increasing. This form of atherosclerotic vascular disease (hardening of the arteries) is characterized by degeneration in the arterial wall in which the wall weakens and balloons outward by thinning. Generally, until the affected artery is removed or bypassed, a patient with an aortic aneurysm must live with the threat of aortic aneurysm rupture and death.  
         [0004]     One clinical approach for patients with an aortic aneurysm is aneurysmal repair by endovascular grafting. Endovascular grafting involves the transluminal placement of a prosthetic arterial stent graft in an endoluminal position. To prevent rupture of the aneurysm, a stent graft of tubular construction is introduced into the aneurysmal blood vessel, typically from a remote location through a catheter introduced into a major blood vessel in the leg.  
         [0005]     When inserted and deployed in a vessel, a stent graft acts as a prosthesis to maintain and restrict blood flow through the vessel. The stent graft typically has the form of an open-ended tubular element and most frequently is configured to enable its expansion from an outside diameter which is sufficiently small to allow the stent graft to traverse the vessel to reach a site where it is to be deployed, to an outside diameter sufficiently large to engage the inner lining of the vessel for retention at the site.  
         [0006]     Despite the effectiveness of endovascular grafting, once the aneurysmal site is bypassed, the aneurysm remains. The aortic tissue can continue to degenerate such that the aneurysm still increases in size due to ongoing thinning of the medial connective tissue architecture of the aorta and degradation of elastin. Thus there is a desire in the art to achieve a greater success of aneurysmal repair and healing. The present invention satisfies this need in the art.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Embodiments according to the present invention address the problem of aneurysm support and repair, particularly the problem of continued breakdown of vessel tissue. A consequence of such continued breakdown is rupture of the aneurysm. Embodiments according to the present invention provide a method for supporting or bolstering the aneurismal site in an individual with cross-linked proteins from the individual&#39;s blood.  
         [0008]     Thus, in one embodiment, there is provided a method for treating an aneurysmal site in a blood vessel, comprising: withdrawing blood from an individual; isolating proteins from the blood; cross-linking the proteins; and delivering the cross-linked proteins to the aneurysmal site by a delivery means, e.g., such as a catheter. In addition, certain embodiments of the invention may further comprise deploying a stent at the aneurysmal site; where the cross-linked proteins are delivered to the space between an exterior wall of the stent and an interior wall of the aneurysmal site. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a human aorta with an where a stent graft has been deployed therein.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart showing generally the steps according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a partial sectional view of a descending aorta with a stent, a delivery catheter and cross-linked proteins placed within the aneurysmal sac. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]     Methods according to embodiments of the present invention for stabilizing and treating an aneurysmal site include bolstering and stabilizing the aneurismal area of an individual by using crosslinked proteins from the individual&#39;s blood. In one embodiment, a stent graft is first implanted in the individual isolating the region between the outer wall of the stent graft and the inner wall of the aneurismal region of the blood vessel. The cross-linked proteins are then delivered to this isolated region.  
         [0013]     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , there is shown generally an aneurysmal blood vessel; in particular, there is an aneurysm of the aorta  12 , such that the blood vessel wall  04  is enlarged. This is an aneurysmal site  14 . The aneurysmal site  14  includes an aneurysmal bulge or sac  18 . If left untreated, the aneurysmal sac  18  may continue to deteriorate, weaken, increase in size, and eventually tear or burst.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart showing generally the steps of a process  200  according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, in step  210 , blood is withdrawn from an individual in a typical manner such as venipuncture using, e.g., a needle, syringe, and one or more evacuated tubes. Such venipuncture induces little to no discomfort, and can be performed on an outpatient basis or shortly before or concurrently with the cleaning ( 240 ), tracking ( 250 ) and/or deploying ( 260 ) steps.  
         [0015]     In step  220 , plasma from the blood is isolated, and the plasma proteins are then isolated from the plasma. Isolating plasma from whole blood is most easily accomplished by centrifuging the withdrawn whole blood, for example, by using a blood platelet processor such as a Medtronics Magellan® Autologous Platelet Separator system. The red cells in the whole blood sediment at the bottom of the centrifuge tube, the white cells of the blood sediment at the top of the red blood cell layer forming a “buffy coat”, and the plasma forms the top layer. Blood comprises roughly 50% plasma in an average adult. Blood plasma is approximately 92% water, 6-8% protein, 0.8% salt, 0.6% lipid and 0.1% glucose.  
         [0016]     Blood plasma serves several important functions, including transporting materials needed by the cells of the body as well as transporting waste products and other materials that must be removed from the body, including various ions (Na +1 , Ca +2 , HCO 3   − ), amino acids, glucose, organic acids, cholesterol, hormones, urea and other wastes. Most of these materials are in transit from a place where they are added to the blood such as the intestine or the liver to places where they will be removed from the blood, such as by the cells of the body, the kidney and the skin.  
         [0017]     Proteins make up 6-8% of the blood, and are about equally divided between serum albumin and a great variety of other proteins (over 450) such as the serum globulins (such as alpha-, beta-, and gamma-globulins). Serum albumin is made in the liver, binds small molecules for transport through the blood, and helps maintain the osmotic pressure of the blood. The alpha and beta serum globulins transport thyroxine, retinal and transferrin. Most antibodies are gamma globulins. A process according to the present invention provides cross-linking of plasma proteins in general, but particularly provides cross-linking of serum albumins.  
         [0018]     In the next step, step  230 , the proteins from the blood, primarily serum albumins, are cross-linked. Most cross-linking reagents have two reactive groups connected by a flexible “spacer” arm. Some cross-linkers, homo-bifunctional cross-linkers, have the same reactive groups at both ends. Others, hetero-bifunctional cross-linkers, have different reactive groups at the ends. Yet another type of cross-linker contains additional functional groups permitting these cross-linkers to serve another purpose, for example, carry a detectable label. There also are several trifunctional cross-linkers that allow trimeric complexes to be made.  
         [0019]     Most protein cross-linking reactions are side-chain reactions and are nucleophilic, resulting in a portion of the end of the cross-linker being displaced in the reaction (the leaving group). Nucleophilic attack is dependent on pH, the temperature and ionic strength of the cross-linking buffer. When the buffer is one to two pH units below the pKa of the side chain, the species is highly protonated and is most reactive; one to two pH units above the pKa, the species is not protonated and not reactive. The majority of proteins have lysines available at the surface of the protein, providing primary amines. Some proteins have cysteines that are not involved in disulfide bonds, providing free sulfhydryls. These are the two most commonly used groups in protein cross-linking strategies. Cross-linking strategies may also use carbohydrates, carboxyls or other reactive functional groups. The cross-linking groups of the present invention are, of course, biocompatible.  
         [0020]     Factors to be considered for protein cross-linking are pH, salt concentration, additives, temperature, protein concentration, the number of reactive functional groups on the surface of the proteins, cross-linker spacer arm length, and conjugation buffer composition.  
         [0021]     The most common class of cross-linkers contains N-hydroxysuccinimide esters (NHS esters) that react with primary amines (lysine and amino termini). Because lysine residues are abundant on the surface of most proteins, these cross-linkers will bind efficiently to almost any protein, including albumin. NHS ester reactions are carried out at about pH 7-9. Reactivity of the lysine group increases as the pH increases to 9, but competing NHS hydrolysis also is favored with pH increase. Cross-linkers that contain NHS esters are not water-soluble; however, the sulfonated forms of NHS esters (e.g., sulfo-NHS esters) are water soluble and are more stable than non-sulfonated NHS esters.  
         [0022]     Maleimides, haloacetyls and pyridyl disulfides are common thio-reactive groups. Maleimide-containing bifunctional cross-linking reagents are most popular for specific controlled and stable conjugation methods. Maleimides react preferentially with sulfhydryls at about pH 6.5-7.5. At higher pH, maleimides will cross-react with amines. Maleimide compounds are not stable in solution for extended periods. They must be processed, frozen or lyophilized as soon as possible. Haloacetyl cross-linkers are stable in solution, but they are somewhat less specific to the sulfhydryl reaction. Pyridyl disulfides are reactive at pH 8.0 or higher and produce a mixed disulfide that can undergo further reduction to break the cross-link.  
         [0023]     Often it is desirable to modify a protein to generate free sulfhydryl groups. The sulfhydryls then act as a convenient “handle” for generating specific cross-links to the protein. Popular sulfhydryl modifiers include N-succinimidyl-S-acetylthioacetone (SATA), N— succinimidyl-3-[2-pyridyldithio]-propionamido (SPDP), and 2-iminothiolane (Traut&#39;s Reagent). These compounds modify primary amines to create free or protected sulfhydryls in place of the amines. Various reducing agents are available for generating free sulfhydryls from disulfides within the protein. They vary in reducing strength (tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine HCl (TCEP)&gt;dithiothreitol (DTT)&gt;mercaptoethanol (ME)&gt;cysteine) and the ability to cleave in hydrophilic (TCEP) and hydrophobic (DTT) protein regions. Free sulfhydryls are favored at a pH less than 7.0, where disulfide formation is favored above pH 7.5. Addition of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) can prevent oxidation of sulfhydryls by trace metals, and degassing buffers further protects sulfhydryls from oxidation. Sulfhydryls are not stable in solution for extended periods and should be processed as soon as possible. Desalting is the best approach for removing sulfhydryl derivation reagents and reductants because it can be accomplished quickly.  
         [0024]     Carbohydrates often are oxidized with sodium periodate to form aldehyde groups. The aldehyde groups can be reacted with hydrazines to form a stable cross-link. Amines are also reactive with oxidized carbohydrate, but they typically require the addition of a reductant to form a stable cross-link.  
         [0025]     Using 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carboiomide (EDC), carboxylate groups can be coupled to primary amines at about pH 4-7. EDC is a zero-length cross-linker that reacts with carboxyls and activates them to couple to primary amines, forming amide bonds.  
         [0026]     In step  240 , the aneurismal sac is cleared of debris. Typically, the aneurismal sac contains old thromboses, fibrous tissue and other cellular debris that, preferably, are removed before the delivery of the cross-linked proteins. Cleaning of the aneurismal sac can be performed by different methods, in particular by using a biocompatible enzymatic solution comprising thrombolytic enzymes (streptokinase, urokinase). After gentle injection into the sac—the blood flow having been interrupted or bypassed using catheters and/or balloons—the thrombus is then liquefied after a given period of time. The liquefaction process also can be extended to mechanically increase the contact with the enzyme and reduce into smaller parts the particles that are not subject to enzyme degradation. After liquefying the contents of the sac, the liquid and debris, are aspirated through a conventional larger diameter catheter. The area can then be rinsed and the rinsing solution aspirated as well.  
         [0027]     Referring still to  FIG. 2 , once blood proteins have been isolated and cross-linked, they can be delivered to the aneurysmal site. To do so, first a delivery means, such as a catheter, is tracked through the vascular system of an individual by methods known in the art, so that the distal portion of the catheter resides in the aneurysmal portion of the aorta ( 250 ). In some embodiments, the catheter may be a double- or triple-lumen catheter, where one lumen may be used to contain a fiber optic means to view the aneurysmal sac. Once the distal end of the delivery means is residing the aneurysmal sac portion of the aorta, a stent graft is deployed spanning the aneurysm ( 260 ) (see also  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0028]     In step  260 , a stent graft is deployed at the aneurismal site, isolating the region outside of the stent graft, immediately adjacent the blood vessel wall in the aneurismal sac. Stent grafts are designed to be deployed and expanded in different ways. A stent graft can be designed to self expand upon release from its delivery system, or it may require application of a radial force through the delivery system to expand the stent to the desired diameter. Self-expanding stent grafts are compressed prior to insertion into the delivery device and released by the practitioner when correctly positioned within the stricture site. After release, the stent graft self-expands to a predetermined diameter and is held in place by the expansion force of the device against the interior wall of the vessel. Stent grafts that require mechanical expansion by the surgeon are commonly deployed by a balloon-type catheter. Once positioned within the stricture, the stent graft is expanded in situ to a size sufficient to fill the lumen and prevent restenosis. Various designs and other means of expansion also have been developed for stent graft delivery.  
         [0029]     Stents and stent grafts are well known in the art. The stent portion of a stent graft may be biodegradable and include a therapeutic agent formulated therewith (i.e., embedded in the biodegradable polymer or covalently bound to the biodegradable polymer); alternatively, the stent can be either biodegradable or non-biodegradable with or without a therapeutic agent formulated with a compound that is used to coat or is otherwise applied to the stent.  
         [0030]     In selecting an appropriate therapeutic agent or agents, one objective is to protect the aneurysmal blood vessel from further destruction, aid in stabilizing the cross-linked proteins, and/or promote healing. Generally, aneurysm results from the invasion of the cell wall by elastin-degradation proteins that occur naturally in the body, but for unknown reasons begin to congregate at certain blood vessel sites, attack the blood vessel structure and cause inflammation of the vessel. Generally, a plurality of enzymes, proteins and acids—all naturally occurring—interact through specific biochemical pathways to form elastin-degradation proteins or to promote the attachment or absorption of elastin-degradation proteins into the cell wall. The elastin-degradation proteins and the resulting breakdown of tissue and inflammation are leading causes of aneurysm formation.  
         [0031]     The therapeutic agents used provide intervention in the aforementioned biochemical pathways and mechanisms, reduction in the level of the individual components responsible for aneurysmal growth, stabilization of the cross-linked proteins or elimination or limitation of the advance of the aneurysmal event. Preferably, the therapeutic agent or agents are released over time in the aneurysmal location, reducing the likelihood of further dilation and increasing the likelihood of successful repair of the aneurysm.  
         [0032]     The maximal dosage of the therapeutic to be administered is the highest dosage that effectively stabilizes the cross-linked proteins, or inhibits elastolytic, inflammatory or other aneurysmal activity but does not cause undesirable or intolerable side effects. The dosage of the therapeutic agent or agents used will vary depending on properties of the coating, including its time-release properties, whether the coating is itself biodegradable, and other properties. Also, the dosage of the therapeutic agent or agents used will vary depending on the potency, pathways of metabolism, extent of absorption, half-life, and mechanisms of elimination of the therapeutic agent itself. In any event, the practitioner is guided by skill and knowledge in the field, and embodiments according to the present invention include without limitation dosages that are effective to achieve the described phenomena.  
         [0033]     Once the stent graft and delivery means (for example, a catheter) are in position, the cross-linked proteins can then be delivered to the aneurysmal sac ( 270 ). Other methods known in the art also may be used to deliver the cross-linked proteins such as percutaneous laparoscopic delivery, using two or more catheters—one to deploy the stent graft and one to deliver the proteins, microinjection, or other methods known to those with skill in the art.  
         [0034]     Moreover, the cross-linked proteins can be delivered with or without a pharmaceutically acceptable solution or diluent. For example, the cross-linked proteins may be delivered in a carrier of sterile water, normal saline or other pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, alone or in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary substance, such as a pH adjusting or buffering agent, tonicity adjusting agent, stabilizer, wetting agent, and the like.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  shows the transluminal placement of a prosthetic arterial stent  30 , positioned in a blood vessel  10 , in this embodiment in an abdominal aorta  12 . The prosthetic arterial stent spans, within the aorta  12 , an aneurysmal portion  14  of the aorta  12 . The aneurysmal portion  14  is formed due to a bulging of the aorta wall  16 , in a location where the strength and resiliency or the aorta wall  16  is weakened. As a result, an aneurysmal sac  18  is formed of distended vessel wall tissue. The stent  30  is positioned spanning the sac  18  adjacent to inner wall  16 .  
         [0036]     The placement of the stent  30  in the aorta  12  is a technique well known to those skilled in the art, and essentially includes opening a blood vessel in the leg or other remote location and inserting the stent  30  contained inside a catheter (not shown) into the blood vessel. The catheter/stent combination is tracked through the remote vessel until the stent  30  is deployed in a position that spans the aneurysmal portion  14  of aorta  12 .  
         [0037]     Cross-linked proteins  20  are shown as having been delivered between the inner wall  16  of the aneurismal sac  18  and the outer wall  22  of the prosthetic arterial stent graft  30  through a distal end  42  of a delivery means (such as a catheter)  40 .  
         [0038]     All references cited herein are to aid in the understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in their entireties for all purposes.