Priority Research Area Chronic Lung Diseases

The program area is dedicated to research into asthma and allergies, as these are among the most common chronic diseases and therefore cause an enormous burden for both patients and healthcare systems.

Over the past 40 years, there has been a dramatic increase in these diseases, with around 300 million asthmatics worldwide today and frequent onset in childhood. This increase cannot be explained by genetic changes in the population due to the short period of time in which it has occurred, but is probably primarily due to the interaction of environmental factors with single nucleotide polymorphisms of the host and its microbiome. This interaction is particularly relevant when it occurs during early developmental windows in life, as it then leads to a long-term fixation of the individual's asthma and allergy risk.

This means, firstly, that the increasing and dramatic spread of the diseases can be prevented (CONTROL) and, secondly, that the identification of patient subgroups with different phenotypes and therapeutic responses (CARE) is made possible.

Der Programmbereich Chronische Lungenerkrankungen fokussiert daher auf die Entwicklung

The Chronic Lung Diseases program area therefore focuses on the development of

pre-symptomatic prevention of asthma and allergies (CONTROL)
improved diagnostics to specify disease phenotypes as a prerequisite for successful therapy (CARE)
the resulting further development of point-of-care systems for predicting
impending disease exacerbations (CARE)
innovative therapeutic strategies (CARE).