Lung Diseases

Widespread and Often Fatal

Our lungs are in constant exchange with the outside world. They are therefore particularly exposed to environmental pollution or pathogens in the air. Accordingly, some lung and respiratory diseases are widespread common diseases. Statistically, one person in Germany dies every four minutes as a result of a lung and respiratory disease. The World Health Organization lists four lung diseases among the ten most common causes of death worldwide: One in five deaths is caused by lung disease or its consequences.

To date, most respiratory diseases have only therapies that provide symptomatic relief, not a cure. Therefore, it is even more important to develop new approaches and options for prevention, diagnosis and therapy through research into causes and disease mechanisms. Research must meet these challenges in a scientifically and structurally coordinated manner: in this way, it pools expertise in order to be able to treat lung diseases more successfully in the future.

Other Disease Areas are:
Cancer

There are approximately 1.4 million cancer patients in Germany – and the number is rising.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases continue to increase and are still the number one cause of death in Germany.

Diabetes

It is estimated that up to 12 million people in Germany could suffer from diabetes by 2040.

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are among the great medical challenges of our time.

Mental disorders

Almost one in three people experience a mental illness in the course of a year.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

So far, there is no cure for neurodegenerative diseases.