Research on Rare Diseases in Germany – The GAIN Registry: a registry for individuals with congenital multi-organ autoimmune diseases

Abstract

Background: Patient registries are an important tool for networking medical caregivers and research, especially in the field of rare diseases. Individuals afflicted by multi-organ autoimmune diseases typically suffer from inflammation of multiple organs. Project: GAIN (German genetic multi-organ Auto-Immunity Network) is the German network for research and therapy optimisation for individuals with congenital multi-organ autoimmune diseases. As a sub-project of the network, the registry systematically collects data from this patient group and makes it available for research purposes. Results: A data set was developed and made available for the GAIN Registry that can map the complex clinical status of persons with multi-organ autoimmune diseases. Data from 486 individuals have been documented to date. Conclusions: The GAIN register allows for a very comprehensive documentation that clearly goes beyond previous approaches, e.g. by linking it to biosamples collected in the consortium. The planned inclusion of patients in the documentation, e.g. of data on quality of life, opens up a new field.