Brussels, 20/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Respiratory Society (ERS) has called on the European institutions to take action on the treatment of rare respiratory illnesses.
The European Union has a role to play in removing the differences that exist between the various national health systems which create discrimination between patients, restricting their access to treatment, says the ERS in a press release published on 19 March.
With the numbers of people suffering from cystic fibrosis, a rare respiratory illness, increasing, the ERS calls on European Health and Food Safety Commissioner Dr Vytenis Andriukaitis and his services to take note of these rises and to further develop the European reference networks devoted to rare respiratory illnesses and so to maximise the EU's ability to treat rare illnesses, commented Jean-Paul Sculier, ERS secretary general for European affairs.
Between one and two million people in the EU suffer from a rare respiratory illness, reveals a report published in the European Respiratory Journal. Real progress has been made in medical research into treatment of these illnesses but it brings with it challenges, with a sharp increase in the number of adults suffering from cystic fibrosis by 2025. Research has brought the development of treatment that increases life expectancy in young sufferers to around 40 years of age. Currently, cystic fibrosis treatment centres focus on paediatric care for young patients but there is as yet nothing similar for adults. The increase in the number of adult patients, therefore, creates new needs that the EU will have to find ways to manage, the ERS says. (Isabelle Lamberty)