Methods and devices for delivering therapeutic agents into the prostate gland
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorPeter Barath
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to the treatment of various ailments associated with the prostate gland, including benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH), cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. The present invention describes, inter alia, devices, methods and therapeutic agents for the treatment of prostatic ailments.
Claims63
A method for delivering a therapeutic agent into the prostate gland of a mammalian subject, said method comprising:
- (a) advancing a delivery catheter that comprises a tissue penetrating member through the urethra of said subject until said tissue penetrating member is positioned in the prostatic segment of the urethra;
- (b) extending said tissue penetrating member through the urethral wall;
- (c) injecting the therapeutic agent into tissue of the prostate gland via the tissue penetrating member;
- and
- (d) removing said catheter from the subject.
A method of treating a disease or condition of the prostate gland comprising administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of a composition that comprises a therapeutic agent selected from the following:
- agents that selectively target prostatic epithelial cell production or apoptosis, agents that selectively target testosterone-DHT conversion levels within the prostate, agents that affect androgen receptor binding within the prostate, cell-cycle inhibitors, and combinations of the same.
A catheter for delivery of a therapeutic agent to a prostate gland of a mammalian subject comprising:
- (a) an elongate body having an axis, a distal end, and a proximal end;
- (b) an expandable drug delivery member which is (i) disposed at a first axial position along said elongate body and (ii) configured for transurethral delivery of a therapeutic agent into said prostate gland;
- and
- (c) an expandable positioning member which is (i) disposed at a second axial position along said elongate body that is distal to said first axial position and (ii) configured for expansion within the bladder of said subject,
- wherein the axial distance between said first and second axial positions is such that, upon expanding said expandable positioning member in the subject's bladder and upon retracting said catheter such that said expandable positioning member engages the bladder outlet, the expandable drug delivery member is properly positioned within the prostatic segment of the urethra.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.