European researchers have called for greater efforts to identify the causes of chronic diseases, such as allergy, which affect growing numbers of people.
The European Science Foundation has identified chronic inflammatory disease as a key area for research, setting out ten priorities.
Allergy and asthma are the most notable examples of these diseases but a host of other common diseases may share common causes.
The researchers say it is time to pin down genetic and environmental causes of these diseases – and use personal genetic analysis, known as deep phenotyping, to identify the right treatments for individuals.
They also want more research into the phenomenon of tolerance – how some people can adapt to external problems.
And they call for interdisciplinary research and effective public-private partnerships.
The experts warn that testing of probiotics, such as yoghurts, to help prevent allergy in children has given mixed results – urging caution about this approach.
The chair of the scientists’ committee Dr Harald Renz, of Phillips University, Marburg, Germany, said: "Many transmissible diseases have been effectively eradicated over the last half century, yet there has been a marked increase in the incidence of chronic inflammatory diseases."
Writing in the journal Dr Lars Kristiansen, of the European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, France, says: "The socioeconomic costs of chronic diseases are staggering and ever increasing. There is an urgent need to prioritise resources and identify the most efficient scientific and societal initiatives to be adopted.
"National collaboration within the European region represents the most efficient manner in which strategies for amelioration of chronic inflammatory diseases in the western world may be achieved."
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