Patent 7989420 was granted and assigned to New York Medical College on August, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The invention relates to methods of inducing smooth muscle relaxation, for example, a method of inducing relaxation of a vascular or a non-vascular muscle or a method of inducing relaxation of the microvasculature, in a subject in need thereof by promoting the accumulation of protoporphyrin IX in the smooth muscle.