Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL) : Introducing novel concepts in allergy phenotypes
Asthma, rhinitis, and eczema are complex diseases with multiple genetic and environmental factors interlinked through IgE-associated and non–IgE-associated mechanisms. Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy (MeDALL; EU FP7-CP-IP; project no: 261357; 2010-2015) studied the complex links of allergic diseases at the clinical and mechanistic levels by linking epidemiologic, clinical, and mechanistic research, including in vivo and in vitro models. MeDALL integrated 14 European birth cohorts, including 44,010 participants and 160 cohort follow-ups between pregnancy and age 20 years. Thirteen thousand children were prospectively followed after puberty by using a newly standardized MeDALL Core Q…
The Development of the MeDALL Core Questionnaires for a Harmonized Follow-Up Assessment of Eleven European Birth Cohorts on Asthma and Allergies
Background: Numerous birth cohorts have been initiated in the world over the past 30 years using heterogeneous methods to assess the incidence, course and risk factors of asthma and allergies. The aim of the present work is to provide the stepwise proceedings of the development and current version of the harmonized MeDALL-Core Questionnaire (MeDALL-CQ) used prospectively in 11 European birth cohorts. Methods: The harmonization of questions was accomplished in 4 steps: (i) collection of variables from 14 birth cohorts, (ii) consensus on questionnaire items, (iii) translation and back-translation of the harmonized English MeDALL-CQ into 8 other languages and (iv) implementation of the harmoni…
Severe Chronic Allergic (and Related) Diseases: A Uniform Approach – A MeDALL – GA<sup>2</sup>LEN – ARIA Position Paper
Concepts of disease severity, activity, control and responsiveness to treatment are linked but different. Severity refers to the loss of function of the organs induced by the disease process or to the occurrence of severe acute exacerbations. Severity may vary over time and needs regular follow-up. Control is the degree to which therapy goals are currently met. These concepts have evolved over time for asthma in guidelines, task forces or consensus meetings. The aim of this paper is to generalize the approach of the uniform definition of severe asthma presented to WHO for chronic allergic and associated diseases (rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic urticaria and atopic dermatitis) in …
Perspective: Essential study quality descriptors for data from nutritional epidemiologic research
Pooled analysis of secondary data increases the power of research and enables scientific discovery in nutritional epidemiology. Information on study characteristics that determine data quality is needed to enable correct reuse and interpretation of data. This study aims to define essential quality characteristics for data from observational studies in nutrition. First, a literature review was performed to get an insight on existing instruments that assess the quality of cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies and dietary measurement. Second, 2 face-to-face workshops were organized to determine the study characteristics that affect data quality. Third, consensus on the data descrip…
Understanding the complexity of IgE-related phenotypes from childhood to young adulthood: A Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL) seminar.
Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL), a Seventh Framework Program European Union project, aims to generate novel knowledge on the mechanisms of initiation of allergy. Precise phenotypes of IgE-mediated allergic diseases will be defined in MeDALL. As part of MeDALL, a scientific seminar was held on January 24, 2011, to review current knowledge on the IgE-related phenotypes and to explore how a multidisciplinary effort could result in a new integrative translational approach. This article provides a summary of the meeting. It develops challenges in IgE-related phenotypes and new clinical and epidemiologic approaches to the investigation of allergic phenotypes, including cluster a…
Paving the way of systems biology and precision medicine in allergic diseases: the Me DALL success story
MeDALL (Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy; EU FP7-CP-IP; Project No: 261357; 2010-2015) has proposed an innovative approach to develop early indicators for the prediction, diagnosis, prevention and targets for therapy. MeDALL has linked epidemiological, clinical and basic research using a stepwise, large-scale and integrative approach: MeDALL data of precisely phenotyped children followed in 14 birth cohorts spread across Europe were combined with systems biology (omics, IgE measurement using microarrays) and environmental data. Multimorbidity in the same child is more common than expected by chance alone, suggesting that these diseases share causal mechanisms irrespective of IgE sen…