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Abstract

A method for treating a patient's heart which comprising delivering a gene therapy agent into the pericardial sac around the patient's heart. The agent is introduced surgically or by transvascular means such as a catheter which has been introduced percutaneously or otherwise. Introducing the gene therapy agent into the pericardial sac contains the agent, allowing high concentration of the agent adjacent large regions of the epicardium and pericardium without spillage or systemic distribution to other organs or tissues. The gene therapy agents of this invention comprise vectors for transferring genetic information to the epicardial cells in vivo or harvested cells which have been genetically engineered in vitro. In a preferred embodiment, a catheter is percutaneously introduced, such as through the femoral artery, and guided upstream into the left ventricle. The distal end of the catheter advanced until it penetrates through the epicardium so that agent can be introduced into the pericardial space. Access to the pericardium may also be gained intraoperatively or through a thoracotomy. Additionally, the method may comprise employing a viscosity enhancer in conjunction with the gene therapy agent to affect the kinetics of the agent-host cell interaction and thus improve the rate and efficiency of transduction.

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First Claim