FGF-I, a human growth factor obtained through genetic
engineering, was used in 20 patients with some form of ischemic
or coronary heart disease, which results from blockages in the
vessels leading to and from the heart. By injecting the growth
factor near the blocked vessels, the scientists were able to
induce neoangiogenesis -- the process by which the body can grow
its own new capillary network to bypass occluded vessels. "This
capillary network is a true de novo vascular system," says
Thomas-Joseph Stegmann, M.D., head of the department of thoracic
and cardiovascular surgery at the Fulda Medical Center, Fulda,
Germany. "We were able to use the recognized physiological
effects of FGF-I to induce neoangiogenesis in the human ischemic
heart." As early as four days after application of FGF-I, the
vascular structure around the diseased vessels was completely
altered in all 20 of the patients. Like the spokes of a bicycle
wheel, the new capillary vessels radiated outward from the point
of injection, resulting in