The Pediatric Department of the University of Ferrara has developed a special expertise in the field of hemoglobinopathies and has also an interest in gastrointestinal diseases. It has a long standing collaboration with the Department of Genetics of the University of Verona. The main fields of interest are thalassemia, gluten intolerance, and osteoporosis in its various aspects. Using our previous research experience as a platform, we plan to study Vitamin D metabolism, bone mineral density, the FGF23 and Klotho axis in patients with thalassemia, in patients with adult type lactose intolerance, in patients treated with antiepileptic drugs and in those who suffer from gluten intolerance. Finally, we intend to cooperate with another group (PP9) of the Trans2Care project in order to clarify the role of tissue antitransglutaminases in seronegative patients with symptoms of gluten intolerance.
