On 11-12 May the MeDALL consortium met for the last project annual event. Running since 2010, MeDALL has completed its lifecycle and this meeting provided the final opportunity to share all achievements in view of the final goal of understanding the mechanisms of the development of allergy.
During the four years of research, MeDALL partners have collected and analysed data form 44,000 individuals aged from 0 to 22 years old. All data came from different European cohorts and are currently gathered and stocked in the MeDALL knowledge portal. These findings are of major importance for the early identification of children at risk of allergic disease, to target prevention.
During the meeting, partners presented how MeDALL has also led to the development of novel diagnosis tools, such as the MeDALL allergen chip that enables a more precise diagnosis and the prediction of disease manifestation based on reactivity profiles. Part of this piece of the research also focused on the development of a risk predictive test for children aimed at identifying the risk for the development of asthma at school age.
All these studies strongly contributed to fill in the research gap in the field of allergology. Nevertheless, further developments are necessary to translate all findings in concrete practices towards the prevention of allergic diseases in children, earlier diagnosis and access to appropriate and patient-centred tailored care. For these reasons, all partners discussed in a specific session how to integrate the results brought by MeDALL in further research.
Through the promotion of a generic European template for Allergy Management Programmes in Europe, which can be tailored to local needs, MeDALL will lay the foundation for the promotion of health and prevention of allergic diseases across all regions of Europe and beyond. For the moment, MeDALL’s unique health data source and its open data approach will guide future research in the prediction of allergic diseases and asthma development in children, with the ultimate aim of preventing them.
To know more about the project, please visit MeDALL page in our website.