COMBINATIONS FOR TREATMENT OF NEOVASCULATURE
Long-term treatment of conditions associated with neovasculature is effected by combining targeted acute antiangiogenic agent treatment with chronic treatment with an additional drug.
1 . A method to treat a condition in a subject characterized by unwanted neovasculature, which method is a protocol that comprises:
acutely administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of an antiangiogenic composition comprising at least one antiangiogenic agent targeted to the neovasculature or to the location of neovasculature; and
chronically administering at least one additional therapeutic agent over time.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said antiangiogenic composition comprises particulate delivery vehicles comprising said antiangiogenic agent, wherein said delivery vehicles are targeted to the neovasculature.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the delivery vehicles are targeted to an integrin.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein acutely administering antiangiogenic composition is by parenteral administration and administering the additional therapeutic agent is by oral administration.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein chronic administering of the additional therapeutic agent is performed during and after acutely administering the antiangiogenic composition.
6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the delivery vehicles are fluorocarbon nanoparticles coated with a lipid/surfactant layer.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antiangiogenic agent is fumagillin, rapamycin, and/or a taxane, and/or
wherein the additional therapeutic agent is a statin.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is human, or is an animal model for a human condition.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the condition is atherosclerosis, cancer, arthritis, or an eye related condition.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the condition is atherosclerosis.
11 . The method of claim 1 , which further includes periodically evaluating the effectiveness of the protocol at least during the time of chronically administering.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein said periodic evaluation employs MR imaging of neovasculature.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said MR imaging employs targeted MRI contrast agent.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the targeted MRI contrast agent consists essentially of chelated paramagnetic ions coupled to nanoparticles targeted to said neovasculature.