“EURODSD (Investigation of the molecular pathogenesis and pathophysiology of Disorders of Sex Development, DSD)”

The EuroDSD is a collaboration of doctors and scientists from all over Europe. Within the 7th Framework Programme and its call for a collaborative project on the natural course and pathophysiology of rare diseases, EuroDSD is supported by the EU Commission. DSD - Disorders of Sex Development Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD) constitute a group of rare to very rare, mostly heritable disorders affecting the genito-urinary tract and in most instances also the endocrine-reproductive system. Long-term outcome studies on various DSD entities are desperately needed in order to establish a basis for evidence-based medicine regarding sex assignment and conservative and surgical treatment options. Structures The project combines unique strengths by linking a European patient-based data collection and analysis tools (WP01) with research on development of novel diagnostic strategies to identify new causes of DSD (WP02, WP04 and WP05) in conjunction with a strong programme on functional molecular biology of the androgen receptor (WP03), thereby allowing for an in-depth analysis of a key factor in the pathogenesis of DSD. More...