[Pollen of gramineae and its relation with allergic manifestations in Costa Rica]

Allergy to pollen is a significant health problem in Costa Rica. This volume both reviews and presents new data on the subject, for which there are no similar comprehensive studies in other areas of Latin America. A description of the sampling methods is presented, as well as an introduction to work presented throughout the volume. A hundred control subjects were compared with 480 patients with rhinitis, conjuntivitis, bronchial asthma and/or atopic dermatitis. Poaceae pollen ranks first in Type I allergic sensitivization, because (1) it produces abundant pollen, (2) occurs in a variety of climates and habitats and (3) its proteins are particularly allergenic. In 1986, about 0.33% of the country's population became new allergy patients, and the rate is increasing. The normal extraction methods were satisfactory and were applied to frozen pollen with a mean active life of about three years. Prich tests were done for a period of two years using only extract combinations by tribe. A second stage used species-specific extracts (1/10 W/V 50% glycerine).