Projects / Programmes
Celostna obravnava alergijskih bolezni in astme v Sloveniji: od epidemiologije do genetike (Slovene)
January 1, 2009
- December 31, 2012
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.01.00 |
Medical sciences |
Microbiology and immunology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 3.02 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
Clinical medicine |
Researchers (16)
Organisations (4)
Significance for science
Our research program is excellent in three particular fields. The first one is airway angiogenesis, which is an important part of structural remodeling in the pathogenesis of asthma. Namely, we recently showed significantly increased airway angiogenesis in corticosteroid-treated and well-controlled asthma patients. That means that with regard to remodeling, the standard therapy is not optimal. We are currently testing different angiogenesis-related factors in order to show which targets could be the most appropriate for the new generation of drugs for obstructive lung diseases. Another field is aspirin intolerance, which is the most common drug adverse reaction, but with an unknown mechanism. In that field we are testing the possible pathogenic role of COX-2 overexpression. Our most comprehensive field is the relation between IgE sensitization and allergic disease. Firstly, the synthesis of allergen-specific IgE is required for the development of allergic diseases, but around one third of individuals with allergen-specific IgE do not develop symptoms. Secondly, the result of immunotherapy is diminishing of the clinical disease, but the sensitization remains. We hypothesize that the clinically relevant sensitization is related to high allergen sensitivity of effectors’ cells, such as basophils and mast cells; and vice versa – if this allergen sensitivity is low there is no disease despite sensitization. We tested this hypothesis in different clinical models, from venom to birch and grass pollens and to dust mite immunotherapy, and recently also in an in vivo provocation assay as well as in the symptom scores monitoring during the pollination season. We showed that the background for different basophil allergen sensitivity and related clinical presentation of disease was diverse and it included blocking IgG antibodies induced by immunotherapy, the size of disease-relevant specific IgE antibodies, transduction cellular element of degranulation and the possible influence of T regulatory cells. We recently also showed the possible role of the Fc?RI down-regulation.
Significance for the country
We want to tackle the fragmentation of Slovenian research in the field of allergy and asthma by building a durable research platform and setting up a nationwide epidemiological study and a patient register. Our initial integration activity was an asthma prevalence study. In the first part we used core questionnaires (N = 687) followed by an outpatient clinical examination in selected subjects (N = 185). In the second part we used supplementary questionnaires for prevalence estimations (N = 1145). We showed a high asthma prevalence of 16.3%. This prevalence group and two other groups (asthma and atopic dermatitis) were also genetically tested. Genetic background of allergic diseases in Slovenian population is important for the planning of the next generation of therapy and for pharmacogenomic evaluation. We significantly raised public awareness with the questionnaire-based study about the safety of allergic children in Slovenian kindergartens and schools. Other major goals of the program were to accelerate the application of research results into clinical practice to meet the needs of patients, and to help guide policy development. We also promote trainings like asthma schools (asthma school is organized 4 times per year), and the integration of other medical expertise, such as dermatology and otolaryngology. By addressing allergy and asthma in their totality, the program’s ultimate objective is to benefit the well-being of patients by decreasing the burden of allergic diseases in Slovenia.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
