In the treatment of respiratory allergies Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) represents a valid alternative to Subcutaneous Immunotherapy (SCIT) for its better safety profile. We describe a case of acute severe asthma following the first maintenance dose of SLIT in a boy allergic to Parietaria pollen. At the initiation of therapy, the patient was in healthy condition and his asthma appeared to be ...

Allergies due to airborne pollen affect approximately 15-20% of European citizens; therefore, the provision of health related services concerning pollen-induced symptoms can improve the overall quality of life. In this paper, we demonstrate the development of personalized quality of life services by adopting a data-driven approach. The data we use consist of allergic symptoms reported by citize...

Little is known about the levels of exposure to grass pollen in urban environments. We assessed the spatio-temporal variation of grass pollen concentrations and the role of urbanity as a determinant of grass pollen exposure in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. We monitored grass pollen concentrations in 2013 at 16 sites during the peak pollen season by using rotorod-type samplers at the breathing...

While the release of pollen into the air is essential for the reproduction of plants, the accidental yet inevitable uptake of pollen into human airways can cause symptoms of seasonal allergies and asthma. The symptomatic response to pollen is caused by granulocytes that produce inflammation, which is due in part to oxidative stress through the action of NADPH oxidases. The recruitment of these ...

Fungi can be found throughout the world. They may live as saprophytes, parasites or symbionts of animals and plants in indoor as well as outdoor environment. For decades, fungi belonging to the ascomycota as well as to the basidiomycota have been known to cause a broad panel of human disorders. In contrast to pollen, fungal spores and/or mycelial cells may not only cause type I allergy, the mos...

The article summarises current knowledge about the preparation and standardisation of treatment and diagnosis of allergies. It summarises the basic conceptions, units, methods and conditions for preparation, conservation and the storage of allergens. The article is especially orientated towards grass pollen.

Summary The first case of disappearance of apple-induced oral allergy syndrome in a birch pollen-allergic patient following omalizumab treatment is reported. This observation in a case of type 2 food allergy suggests that omalizumab is potentially an effective preventive treatment for patients with severe, type 1 food allergies.

The present work analyses the airborne pollen dynamic of the atmosphere of Toledo (central Spain), a World Heritage Site and an important tourist city receiving over 2 millions of visitors every year. The airborne pollen spectrum, the annual dynamics of the most important taxa, the influence of meteorological variables and the risk of suffering pollen allergy are analysed. Results of the presen...

Pollen monitoring was carried out in Lublin in 2001-2012 by the volumetric method using a Hirst-type spore trap (Lanzoni VPPS 2000). Daily pollen concentrations considerably differed in the particular years. The pollen counts with the biggest variability were observed in the first half of a year when woody plants flowering. The highest annual pollen index were noted for the following taxa: Betu...

BACKGROUND Pollinosis is found more frequently in urban areas than in rural environments. This could be partly related to the different types of pollen exposure in these dissimilar areas. The objective of this study was to compare the distribution of pollen in these environments across an urbanization gradient. METHODS Daily pollen abundances were obtained in France using Hirst-type sensors. ...