Incidence of Betulaceae pollen and pollinosis in Zagreb, Croatia, 2002-2005.
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Pollen allergy is characterized by seasonal allergic manifestations affecting patients during the plant pollen season. The aim of this study was to analyze the Betulaceae pollen pattern in Zagreb (2002-2005) and to determine the incidence of sensitization to these pollen types in patients with seasonal respiratory allergy. Twenty-four-hour pollen counts were carried out using volumetric procedure. Skin prick test were performed on a total of 864 patients aged 18-80< in Zagreb between 2 January-31 December 2004. Pollen of the representatives of the family Betulaceae accounted for a significant proportion of total pollen (34% on an average), predominated by Betula pollen and considerably lower proportion of Alnus sp. and Corylus sp. pollen. Alder and hazel pollen first occurred in the air in February throughout the study period. The highest airborne pollen concentration of these taxa was recorded in February and March. The birch pollen season generally peaked in April. Only 2.67% of patients showed birch pollen monosensitization. The proportion of patients with polysensitization to Betulaceae pollen was considerably greater (12.88%), whereas polysensitization to Betulaceae, Poaceae and Ambrosia pollen was recorded in the highest proportion of patients (26.23%). According to age, the highest and lowest rate of allergy was recorded in the 31-50 and >51 age groups, respectively (46.22% vs 23.12%). Female predominance was observed across all age groups. The patients with monosensitization to birch pollen had the most severe symptoms in April. In the patients with poylsensitization to alder, hazel and birch pollen who developed cross-reaction, initial symptoms occurred as early as February, with abrupt exacerbation in March and April. The most severe condition was observed in the patients allergic to birch, hazel, alder, grass and ragweed pollen, with symptoms present throughout the year and exacerbation in spring and late summer months. (+info)
Regional importance of Alnus pollen as an aeroallergen: a comparative study of Alnus pollen counts from Worcester (UK) and Poznan (Poland).
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Daily average Alnus pollen counts (1996-2005) from Worcester (UK) and Poznan (Poland) were examined with the aim of assessing the regional importance of Alnus pollen as an aeroallergen. The average number of Alnus pollen grains recorded annually at Poznan was more than 2.5 times that of Worcester. Furthermore, daily average Alnus pollen counts exceeded the thresholds of 100, 500 and 1,000 grains/m3 more times at Poznan than Worcester. Skin prick test results (1996-2005) and allergen-specific IgE (asIgE) measurements using the CAP (Pharmacia) system (2002-2005), were supplied by the Allergic Diseases Diagnostic Centre in Poznan. The annual number of positive skin prick tests to Alnus pollen allergens was significantly related (p<0.05) to seasonal variations in the magnitude of the Alnus pollen catch recorded at Poznan (r=0.70). The symptoms of patients with positive skin prick tests to Alnus pollen allergens were: 51% pollinosis, 43% atopic dermatitis, 4% asthma, 1% chronic urticaria and 1% eczema. On a scale of 0-6, 20.5% of patients examined for serum asIgE in relation to Alnus pollen allergens had asIgE measurements in classes 5 and 6. Alnus pollen is generally considered to be mildly allergenic. However, the amount of Alnus pollen released into the atmosphere in places such as Poznan may increase its impact on the population and make it one of the more important aeroallergens present. (+info)
Correlations between alder specific IgE and alder-related tree pollen specific IgE by RAST method.
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BACKGROUND: Wild birch trees grow in limited areas in Japan and are not a common aero-allergen. However, many patients who do not live in the area show positive birch pollen Radioallergosorbent Test (RAST). Therefore, being sensitized by another tree pollen which is closely related to birch may result in showing a specific IgE antibody to birch. Alder is a one of these trees and in the past it grew widely in Japan. However, there is no available RAST data as to the correlations between alder and alder-related trees. METHODS: We measured the alder specific IgE (CAP-RAST, Phadea) in stored sera which was positive in birch RAST (228 samples), beech RAST (36 samples), oak RAST (152 samples) and cedar RAST (411 samples) and examined correlations between the RAST of alder and other trees. RESULTS: The correlation coefficient value of birch was very high (0.971). The other coefficient values of beech and oak were high (0.884 in beech and 0.895 in oak) but were slightly lower than that of the birch. This means that in terms of allergenicities, birch pollen is almost the same as alder and beech and oak are partly different from the alder. CONCLUSIONS: The Japanese respond to alder pollen just same as they do to birch pollen in forming specific IgE antibody. In clinical practice, positive alder RAST has the same meaning as positive birch RAST. (+info)
Protective and therapeutic effects of an extract mixture of alder tree, labiate herb, milk thistle green bean-rice bran fermentation, and turnip against ethanol-induced toxicity in the rat.
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An herbal extract mixture and yogurt added to the herbal extract mixture were tested for their protective and therapeutic effects on ethanol-induced liver injury. The herbal extract mixture, yogurt and commercial drugs were used for treatment for two weeks prior to administering a single oral dose of ethanol (3 g/kg body weight). The herbal extract mixture and yogurt added to the herbal extract mixture were found to provide protection against ethanol-induced toxicity comparable to the commercial drug treatment, according to the serum and histopathological analysis. It was also shown that co-treatment with herbal extract mixture and yogurt against a triple oral dose of ethanol (2 g/kg body weight, over one week) provided protection against ethanol toxicity. After the initial set of experiments, the herbal extract mixture and yogurt treatments were extended for three more weeks. When compared to the positive control, further treatment with both the herbal extract and yogurt significantly reduced liver injury and resulted in a lower grade of lipid deposition. (+info)
Streptomyces alni sp. nov., a daidzein-producing endophyte isolated from a root of Alnus nepalensis D. Don.
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