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Allergies
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Introduction

Allergic diseases were once brushed off as "just allergies," but we are now realizing the significant role that they play in the health and quality of life of people in this country and around the world. Among the major causes of chronic illness and disability in the United States, allergic diseases, including asthma, may affect as many as 50 million Americans, or one in five people. The economic burden of these diseases is staggering. For example, asthma was estimated to cost more than 6.2 billion health care dollars in 1990.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, stands at the forefront of scientific research on allergic and immunologic diseases. NIAID scientists and those supported by NIAID are working to prevent a broad spectrum of disorders of the immune system, including asthma and allergies.

Until prevention is possible, an intermediate goal of the Institute's research programs is to determine how allergic diseases develop and to improve diagnosis and treatment. Achieving this goal will help reduce the impact these diseases have on health and quality of life as well as reduce the economic burden imposed on individuals, families, and the health care system.

At NIAID laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland, scientists are conducting basic and clinical investigations on asthma and allergic diseases. NIAID's Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation provides research grant, contract, and cooperative agreement support to scientists at universities and other research institutions throughout the United States.

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