Programmes Européens EU PCRD7

Mechanisms of early protective exposures on allergy development (EFRAIM)

• Coordinator

  Contact Person:
  VON MUTIUS, Erika (Professor)
  Tel: +49-8951602709
  Fax: +49-8951604452
  Email: Contact

  Organisation:
  LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
  Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
  MUENCHEN
  GERMANY

Web site

http://www.efraim-online.com/

Project description

Allergy has developed into a major health concern in Europe. Allergic diseases can currently be managed effectively but not cured. The onset of allergies stars early in life and there is increasing evidence that exogenous factors affecting the incidence of these illnesses exert their effect early in life, in part even prenatally. The highly interdisciplinary EFRAIM project will prospectively investigate the main protective factors in early life influencing the development of allergies in birth cohorts conducted in allergy protective environments in five European countries.

These birth cohorts have been enrolling over 1,000 children and have collected detailed information on the onset of allergic illnesses, objective measures of allergies and a vast amount of information about a number of environmental exposures. Large biobanks with a variety of biological samples have been established. In the EFRAIM project particular attention will be given to the potential role of dietary exposures, lifestyle and other environmental (e.g. microbial) exposures early in life which are causal determinants rather than triggers of the illness.

Participants

• COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, FRANCE
• TERVEYDEN JA HYVINVOINNIN LAITOS, FINLAND
• MEDIZINISCHE HOCHSCHULE HANNOVER, GERMANY
• UNIVERSITAET BASEL, SWITZERLAND
• PHILIPPS UNIVERSITAET MARBURG, GERMANY
• UNIVERSITE DE FRANCHE-COMTE, FRANCE
• TEAGASC - AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, IRELAND
• PROTECTIMMUN GMBH, GERMANY
• KARDINAL SCHWARZENBERG'SCHES KRANKENHAUS BETRIEBSGESELLSCHAFT MBH, AUSTRIA
• UNIVERSITAET BERN, SWITZERLAND
• UNIVERSITAET ZUERICH, SWITZERLAND
• UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS
• UNIVERSITAET ULM, GERMANY
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN, GERMANY