August 30, 2000
Contact:  Jennifer Day, (313) 577-1058, jday@med.wayne.edu

WSU physician receives grant to study African Americans’ stroke risk

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation awards $74,000

  Seemant Chaturvedi, MD, Wayne State University School of Medicine associate professor of neurology, received a $74,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation to help identify and study African Americans at risk for stroke.

The study will identify vascular and nutritional causes that put African Americans at increased risk for stroke.

“It’s always important to promote early intervention,” Dr. Chaturvedi said. “We already know African Americans are twice as likely to have strokes than other groups. Now we want to determine whether we can identify African American patients with narrowing of the blood vessels leading to the brain at an early stage, before any damage has been done to the brain.”

Those with heart disease who have had heart attacks or angina often have more than one blockage in vessels in the body. This study seeks to determine whether such blockages are likely to occur in vessels leading to the brain.

Dr. Chaturvedi already is recruiting 60 to 65 patients for the study, which will begin in October. Those who have had chest pains or heart attacks but no strokes are eligible to participate. Patients will undergo blood screenings, in part to determine cholesterol levels, and blood vessel imaging. Information about patients’ nutritional habits also will be gathered. There is no charge to participate in the study.

If sufficient progress is made during the first year, the grant will be renewed for an additional year, allowing researchers to study a total of 125 patients.

The study is a collaborative effort between the neurology and cardiology departments. Neurology co-investigators include Professor Steven Levine, MD; Assistant Professor Mark Gorman, MD; and Assistant Professor Brad Jacobs, MD. Cardiology co-investigators include Professor James Marsh, MD; Professor Marvin Kronenberg, MD; and Assistant Professor Steven Gellman, MD. For further information about the project, please call 313-745-1540.