Peripheral artery disease narrows arteries in the legs, causing pain with walking and raising the risk of amputation and heart attack. About 8 million Americans have PAD, often alongside diabetes or smoking history. Current treatment centers on cholesterol-lowering statins, blood pressure control, supervised exercise, and opening blockages with stents or surgery.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing drugs that grow new blood vessels around blockages, gene therapies that deliver growth factors directly to leg muscles, better stents with coatings that prevent re-narrowing, and cell therapies using a person's own stem cells. Researchers are also studying intensive medical therapy that might delay or avoid procedures for many people.
Angiogenesis therapies
Drugs and gene therapies aim to stimulate new blood vessel growth around blockages, potentially restoring blood flow without surgery. Early trials show some people gaining walking distance and reducing pain.
Drug-coated devices
Newer stents and balloons release medications directly into artery walls to prevent scar tissue from closing them again. Trials are testing which coatings work best and how long they last.
Intensive medical management
Studies compare aggressive cholesterol lowering, supervised exercise programs, and newer diabetes drugs against standard care. Some people may avoid procedures entirely with this approach.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on symptom severity, ankle-brachial index measurements, prior procedures, and presence of tissue loss or ulcers.
What types of trials are currently open
- Device trials — Testing stents, balloons, and atherectomy devices that remove plaque or hold arteries open.
- Gene therapy trials — Injecting genes that tell the body to grow new blood vessels around blockages in the legs.
- Drug trials — Testing medications that improve blood flow, reduce clotting risk, or stimulate vessel growth.
- Exercise trials — Comparing structured exercise programs to usual care for improving walking distance and quality of life.
- Observational studies — Following people with PAD to understand disease progression, amputation risk, and response to treatments.
Recently added Peripheral Artery Disease trials
Take either dual blood thinners or a new blood thinner combination
The study aims to conduct a randomized controlled trial among adults aged 19 years or older who have experienced acute myocardial infarction at least one year prior, or who have other comorbidities such as peripheral arterial disease or multiple cardiovascular diseases, and have consented to participate in the study. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a group that maintains antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel or clopidogrel alone, or a group that maintains combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy with aspirin and low-dose rivaroxaban in a 1:1 ratio. The study aims to demonstrate that maintaining clopidogrel-based antiplatelet therapy is not clinically inferior to maintaining combined therapy with aspirin and low-dose rivaroxaban.
Donate blood samples to help researchers track healthy aging
The Health for Hungary (H4H) study collects blood samples and corresponding health data to investigate healthy aging and health-to-disease transitions in middle-aged and elderly participants. Indications Studied: Apparently healthy, symptom-free participants are enrolled and followed up to study the onset of new-onset diseases with special emphasis on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Study Design: Single-country, multicenter, prospective, longitudinal survey. Objectives: The study aims to establish reference ranges of blood parameters using routine clinical blood tests and high-information-content methods, including proteomics, metabolomics and the so-called infrared molecular fingerprinting. The study also aims to identify novel biomarkers of major non-communicable diseases, including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease.
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