Dr. Alele is using DXA scanning to determine if the amount of artery
damage is related to bone density in African American and
Caucasian adults with metabolic syndrome. 

MUSC Researcher investigating the link between Metabolic Syndrome,
Heart Disease, Bone Density, and Race

Patients with metabolic syndrome may have one or more of a cluster of related disorders including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.  Some patients also develop  polycystic ovarian syndrome and non alcoholic fatty liver disease.  In the United States, one in three to four adults are affected, and this number is expected to increase. Nine out of ten patients with Type II diabetes are estimated to have the metabolic syndrome.

An area that has not been properly studied is the association between the metabolic syndrome and calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, a marker of heart disease. Interestingly, arterial calcification tends to co-exist with osteoporosis in certain conditions, and some researchers have suggested that these two processes might be linked. This holds the promise of shared therapeutic strategies for the two conditions.

Dr. Jimmy Alele is conducting a study which will shed light on whether or not coronary calcification is related to the presence of the metabolic syndrome and race in adult men. He will also determine whether coronary calcification is related to bone loss among these patients, and the factors that might be involved in the causation of these interesting phenomena. This study is being conducted at the MUSC General Clinical Research Center (soon to be the SCTR Clinical and Translational Research Center). Coronary calcification is being measured using state-of –the art chest CT- scans, and bone density is being measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.  

Related Podcasts


From the Department of

Cardiology, Nov. 24, 2008

Diet and Exercise in the Treatment of the Metabolic Syndrome

Overview of the Metabolic Syndrome