Forallvent Symposium: Novel Avenues in Prevention and Treatment of Allergies

Leiden University Medical Centre will stage the Forallvent Symposium on the 15th of January 2009.

The meeting brings together experts in the field of immunology, some with particular focus on the gut, to give talks and to take part in iscussions on new avenues for prevention of allergic disorders.

The FORALLVENT immunology symposium focuses on the functioning of the immune system in relation to inflammation and tolerance with particular focus on the gut. Talks will be given that cover the question of how chronic, low level, inflammation in different environmental settings lead to different immune profiles with the aim to link epidemiological findings to clinical outcomes. Regarding the role of the gut in controlling the immune system, speakers will cover the anatomy of the immune system
associated with the gut and the inflammatory diseases of the gut. Experts will discuss the issues of how vitamin A is related to the induction of regulatory T cells and how dendritic cells are playing a central role in
determining an inflammatory or a tolerogenic immune response. Moreover, the basic mechanisms of tolerance will be covered and recommendations
will be made for the pathways that need to be targeted in order to prevent overt inflammation.

The meeting will be open to researchers from industry who are interested to join academics in thinking about the future of diseases such as
respiratory and food allergies in particular and other inflammatory disorders in general.