European project on asthma causes launched
15 May 2006

A large-scale research project has been launched across Europe to investigate how genetics and the environment influence the development of asthma.

Professor Bill Cookson of Imperial College London will coordinate the GABRIEL project, which will involve more than 150 scientists from 14 countries, and will be examining genetic and environmental factors in over 40,000 adults and children with asthma.

One area the study will focus on is the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ – the theory that exposure in early life to microbes and certain types of bacteria can help to build a healthy immune system and protect children from developing asthma and allergies.

About 5.2 million people in the UK have asthma, and its severity should not be underestimated: there were 1,381 deaths from asthma in 2004. Understanding the causes of asthma is an important way in which to prevent its development.

‘We hope this study will help us identify just how genes and the environment cause the development of asthma, identifying both risk and protective factors, with the long-term aim of preventing the illness,’ said Professor Cookson.

‘Previous studies have shown the causes of asthma are incredibly diverse with a huge number of genetic and environmental factors all potentially having an impact,’ explained the project’s co-leader, Professor Erika von Mutius from LMU Munich. ‘Traditionally it has been hard to analyse all the genetic and environmental information but the latest developments in areas such as genomics and bioinformatics now allow us to analyse this huge and complicated amount of data.’

The study has been funded by the European Community, which the project leaders say will allow them to draw on the best research from many countries.

'This type of very large-scale study can only be carried out with international co-operation,’ said Professor von Mutius. ‘We are most fortunate that we are able to carry out the GABRIEL project within Europe, with its wide diversity of environments and genes and its shared scientific heritage.’