Wayne State prof wins $564,000 grant to study metabolic syndrome

Another half million dollars in federal funding is coming to Wayne State University for research. The U.S. Department of Defense is giving Dr. Isaac J. Powell, a urology professor at the Wayne State University Medical School, $564,000 to study the influence of metabolic syndrome on prostate cancer and the risk of recurrence in African-American men over the next three years.Prostate cancer causes death in African-American men at twice the rate than the rest of the population. African-Americans also develop more aggressive prostate cancer.Recent reports suggest a link between prostate cancer and metabolic syndrome, which includes a cluster of symptoms such as abdominal obesity, high serum fat levels, low HDL cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. The connection to African Americans is that segment of the population has the highest incidence of obesity and hypertension in the U.S. Dr. Powell will compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among patients with an aggressive form of the disease as compared to non-aggressive forms. Source: Wayne State UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke