DETROIT - April 13, 2004 - Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers are seeking participants for two important studies that will examine the causes of disease conditions that represent areas of known health disparities in African Americans.
The studies are part of the Center for Urban African American Health (CUAAH), one of only eight institutions in the United States studying health disparities in minority populations and the recent recipient of a $6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

1) The first study invites participation of African-American males or females, 45 or older, who are not hypertensive, diabetic or taking lipid- lowering drugs. The study will analyze how genes and lifestyle factors may affect salt sensitivity and obesity in African Americans who do not have high blood pressure and whose weight is higher than recommended standards.

2) The second study invites participation of African-American females, ages 18-70, who were previously diagnosed with breast cancer and have completed therapy without recurrence. The study will examine the effect of peer counseling on weight loss in breast cancer survivors.

Women currently on a weight loss program cannot be considered. The studies include modest compensation for study participants. For more information or to be considered for the study, call Donna Ford at 313-745-5774. Detroit has the highest percentage of African Americans in U.S. cities with over 100,000 people, and African Americans suffer disproportionately from a wide range of cancers and lifestyle- and obesity-related health conditions.

"This center has a tremendous opportunity to provide greater insight into how the environment, stress and genetic factors conspire to diminish health and cause disease in African Americans," said Dr. John Flack, principle investigator for the CUAAH and associate chair of the School of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine.

The Wayne State center will be housed on the Detroit Medical Center campus. University faculty members Dr. Richard Severson and Dr. Mary Nies are co- principal investigators for the CUAAH. The center brings together investigators from medicine, nursing, cancer and the social sciences at Wayne State.

With more than 1,000 medical students, WSU is among the nation's largest medical schools. Together with its clinical partner, the Wayne State University Physician Group, the school is a leader in patient care and medical research in a number of areas, including cancer, genetics, neuroscience and women's and children's health.