Babies born in the Pirkanmaa region needed in a prevention of allergization study
The PREVALL study seeks to understand whether of soil and plant-based materials could prevent the development of allergies in children. The aim is to find ways of preventing atopic allergy and related IgE-mediated allergic sensitization.
The project studies how exposure soil and vegetation with a safe and a diverse microbial population could lessen IgE-sensitization and the allergic disease risk caused by this sensitization. These kinds of allergic diseases include most allergies such a pollen allergies, hay fever, atopic rash and IgE-mediated asthma. These diseases have increased in prevalence as human contact to nature has declined with the urbanization of society. The prevailing hypothesis is that the human immune system requires contact to nature’s diverse microbial communities to stay healthy.
The study enrolls children born in the Tampere University Hospital (TAYS) whose parents that have clinical symptoms of allergies and are thus in risk of developing allergic diseases. The children participating in the study receive daily treatments with products that contain soil and plant materials or they receive a placebo.
The study is part of the larger ADELE ecosystem that researches ways to prevent immune mediated diseases. The study is conducted by the University of Helsinki (Faculty of biological and environmental sciences, Faculty of medicine) and Tampere University (Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Faculty of Built Environment) and Tampere University Hospital’s Children’s Clinic.
