Chelating agents and antioxidants: Pragmatic approaches for management of Buerger's disease

Buerger's disease (BD) is a peripheral vascular disease, the etiology of which was largely unknown until recently. Currently, various studies demonstrated the involvement of heavy metals in tobacco and other source as one of the causative factors. Heavy metals induce vascular dysfunction by inducing high oxidative stress, reducing the activities of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and enhancing the phosphorylation of myosin light chain kinases. Targeting and modulating these pathological mechanisms may provide novel pharmacological intervention to halt the progression of the BD. Hence, we hypothesized that chelating agents and antioxidants alone or combination therapy can help manage BD.