Ataxia telangiectasia: why should the ERS care?

Neurological and immunological contributions to lung disease in A-T require proactive and multidisciplinary management Why indeed should we care? The answer is that ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) patients will present to respiratory paediatricians for diagnosis, when standard testing, if the diagnosis is not made, may do irreparable harm; and both adult and paediatric respiratory physicians will be involved in managing the respiratory disease, which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. So there is a real “need to know” which is why the ERS convened a task force on A-T, whose findings are published in the European Respiratory Review [1].