European inflammatory disease network

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) affect about 5-8 % of the European population. The best known IMID disorder is juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which develops in childhood and causes significant morbidity and long-term disability.

Currently there is no safe and cost-effective cure for JIA and other juvenile IMIDs and none of the approved therapies are suitable for use in children. Besides innovative therapies, improvements in diagnosis and the development of predictive tools for treatment response would significantly improve long-term prognosis in these young patients.

Scientists on the EU-funded EUTRAIN (European translational training for autoimmunity & immune manipulation network) project have set out to advance diagnosis and therapy of IMID. EUTRAIN is a multidisciplinary programme that aims to establish a lasting pan-European, multidisciplinary scientific network which will continue IMID-related research for translation into clinical practice.

Project activities will identify relevant biomarkers and elucidate the immune regulation of inflammation. From an educational perspective, the program at EUTRAIN is coordinated by the Eureka institute for Translational Medicine. Their focus is on translational medicine, career mentoring as well as complementary skills. Project trainees have also participated in additional courses held at the European Institute for Molecular Imaging in Münster.

Taken together, the translational network and the scientific output of the EUTRAIN project will facilitate continuous research in IMID by well-trained researchers. In turn, this will ensure that innovative new approaches are developed for the diagnosis and treatment of IMID.