Terapia génica en insuficiencia cardiaca

Patients with heart failure still have a reduced life expectancy, poor quality of life and frequent hospital admissions, although specific care units, new drugs and devices have been developed in the last years. For that reason, novel strategies are needed to treat the growing population of heart failure patients. Better understanding of many of the basic molecular mechanisms involved in the heart failure disease has allowed the development of gene therapy models using different vectors, including viral vectors specifically directed to these molecular targets. In spite of the promising results from animal studies, the clinical translation by randomized clinical trials has been unsuccessful. This review briefly reviews the principles underlying gene transfer therapy and its application in the field of heart failure, as well as the recent trials carried out in patients with heart failure.