News
Foundation, Baxter announce grant to study African-Americans for Alpha-1, genetic links to illness, death from COPD
MIAMI and DEERFIELD, Ill. Oct. 13, 2008 – The Alpha-1 Foundation and Baxter Healthcare Corporation today announced the winner of a research grant awarded by the Alpha-1 Foundation and sponsored by Baxter for a pioneering study to test African Americans for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), a frequently undiagnosed and misdiagnosed genetic disorder affecting the lungs and the liver. A deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin may lead to hereditary emphysema, one of the diseases classified as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Marilyn Foreman, MD, MS, of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and the Channing Laboratory of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, will be the principal investigator of the study, “Genetic Determinants of COPD in African Americans.”
The study will test 400 African Americans with COPD and another 400 African Americans without COPD and aims to identify the genetic component of COPD susceptibility in African Americans, which may include Alpha-1.
