Theranostic Approach to Asthma Using Anti-Angiogenic Nanomedicine

描述（由申请人提供）：哮喘是一种慢性炎症性肺病，估计影响2300万美国人（1600万成年人），其中1200万人每年至少经历一次哮喘发作。哮喘的症状对医疗保健系统造成重大的经济负担（2008年为180亿美元），并对患者的生活质量产生巨大影响。哮喘的特征是气道炎症和水肿。近年来，研究表明，气道壁微血管密度和扩张的血容量的增加对肺功能有重要作用。 该项目结合了伊丽莎白瓦格纳教授，博士（PI）在肺血管生成生理学和格雷戈里M。Lanza博士（PD/PI），其基于纳米医学的分子成像和治疗是众所周知的，特别是在癌症和动脉粥样硬化的血管生成方面。该提案的首要假设是使用纳米医学方法来非侵入性地表征支气管血管生成（新血管形成），以提供急性抗血管生成治疗来减少气道重塑和改善肺功能，并保持这种新治疗的急性益处与标准护理低剂量类固醇。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that affects an estimated 23 million Americans (16 million adults), 12 million of whom experience at least one asthma attack annually. The symptoms of asthma cause significant economic burden on the healthcare systems ($18B in 2008) as well as dramatic impact on the quality of patients' lives. Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation and edema. Recently, the long recognized increase in airway wall microvessel density and expanded blood volume have been suggested to contribute significantly to lung function. This project combines the recognized expertise of Professor Elizabeth Wagner, PhD (PI) in pulmonary angiogenesis physiology and Professor Gregory M. Lanza, MD PhD (PD/PI), whose nanomedicine-based molecular imaging and therapy is well known, particularly in the context of angiogenesis in cancer and atherosclerosis. The overarching hypotheses of this proposal are to use nanomedicine approach to noninvasively characterize bronchial angiogenesis (new vessel formation), to deliver acute antiangiogenic therapy to reduce airway remodeling and improve pulmonary function, and to maintain the acute benefits of this new treatment with standard-of-care low dose steroids.