Allergy research project of paediatric and adolescent medicine

Allergies are among the most common chronic childhood diseases. They put a heavy burden on affected families. Many patients have life-long symptoms and need treatment, while others lose their symptoms in childhood and adolescence. This natural remission hardly occurs in adults and is poorly understood so far.

In pediatrics there are no clinical trials during childhood for so-called "biologica". Currently, state of the art is that the development of allergies is caused by a complex interaction of genetics and the environment. However, it is not yet known neither who has a risk for developing allergic diseases nor for which of the diseases. It is also completely unclear which children will lose their disease at what time, and who is at high risk for worsening and progression into adolescence or adulthood.

Over the next 4 years, CHAMP will investigate whether biomarkers and predictors of allergy and childhood tolerance can be identified at a very early stage. Determining factors of various allergic diseases such as food allergies, atopic dermatitis, asthma and hay fever are to be identified, which characterize the onset, course and remission of allergies in children and adolescents. To identify clinically relevant biomarkers that predict the manifestation of an allergic disease and its course of disease, a large number of children from various cohort studies will be examined.

The development of a molecular allergy score should serve to assess the risk of allergies in early childhood and to derive long-term strategies for future personalized treatment. From these results, it will later be possible to derive specific diagnosis and treatment recommendations.