Re-wired Metabolism in Diseases: Biomarker and Therapeutic Applications

Early detection of chronic diseases provides the greatest opportunity for successful intervention, thus bending the epidemic curve. The challenge in early detection is that chronic, non-communicable diseases begin their pathology well before the phenotype emerges into the light of clinical observation. This can be accomplished by detecting the metabolic consequents of the cellular disorders. Susceptible diseases to this approach include disorders of energy utilization that include cancers. Research specimens suitable for longitudinal determinations include blood, urine, saliva, and exhaled breath. The ability to detect changes over time and to bioinformatically normalize observations to each sample provide an opportunity to precisely answer research findings on biological questions behind these diseases. Using such a longitudinal approach, we are developing a metabolite-based panel of biomarker for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa) research in African American (AA) men. Unlike in European American (EA) men, PCa in AA men is more aggressive and progresses rapidly. We expect our panel of biomarkers to enable early PCa detection in AA men with elevated levels of prostate specific antigen, thus allowing for early clinical research management of the disease.    

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.