The Medical College of Wisconsin has received $2.8 million in grants to investigate treatment options for Type 2 Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and kidney failure in cancer patients.
Metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe a cluster of diseases related to obesity that includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, excess fat and abnormal cholesterol levels. People with metabolic syndrome have a high risk of developing cardiovascular problems.
Around 34 percent of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, according to the American Heart Association.
John D. Imig, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at MCW, will lead the research.
The grants will allow MCW researchers to test the effect of a new treatment compound on metabolic syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes and reducing risk of kidney failure. Researchers will also study kidney disease in cancer patients and seek new ways to protect patients’ kidneys from damage while receiving radiation therapy.
MCW received a five-year, $2.3 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and a one-year $485,000 grant from the Medical Foundation’s Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust Catalyst Award.
The trust catalyst grant was created to support medical research that improves treatments and cures diseases that have no known cure.