Ambrosia: a new impending disaster for the israeli allergic population.

The pollen of Ambrosia (ragweed) is one of the major causes of pollen-induced allergy worldwide. This genus of plants has apparently evolved in North America but later spread into Europe and Asia. Flowering of the Ambrosias starts in mid-July and continues throughout the autumn and is a cause of major morbidity to allergic sensitized patients.

Impact of specific allergen sensitization on the prevalence of asthma in patients with allergic rhinitis from adjacent distinct geographic areas.

Background: Patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and perennial allergen sensitization are at increased risk for asthma.

Objectives: To determine the allergic profile of patients with clinical AR in regions of the coastal Mediterranean compared with the inland southern desert area of Israel and the impact of specific allergen sensitization on the prevalence of asthma in these patients.

Methods: Retrospective evaluation of medical records from patients referred for evaluation during 2002 and 2003 to the allergy clinics of 3 medical centers located in different geoclimatic areas.

Allergenicity and cross-reactivity of Senecio pollen: identification of novel allergens using the immunoproteomics approach.

Background: The genus Senecio is the largest genus of the family Asteraceae (Compositae). The allergenicity of Senecio has not been assessed previously.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the allergens of Senecio jacobea pollen and to determine their immunological characteristics and clinical relevance.

Occurrence and stress response of N-methylproline compounds in Tamarix species.

A number of N-methylproline analogues have been found to accumulate in different species of Tamarix. These include N-methyl-L-proline (MP), trans-4-hydroxy-N-methyl-L-proline (M4HP) and trans-3-hydroxy-N-methyl-L-proline (M3HP). The three compounds appeared in all species but their relative and absolute levels depend upon species, ecotype and level of applied salt stress.

Allergy to cypress pollen.

Although Cupressus sempervirens has been spread over southern Europe since antiquity, cypress pollen allergy has not been reported until 1945. In France, the very first case reports were published in 1962. Since then, the prevalence of cypress pollinosis seems to demonstrate an upward trend, concomitantly with the increased use of cypress trees as ornamental plants, as wind breaks and as hedges.

How to reduce air pollution by Cupressus pollen?

Cypress trees are among the most famous trees of the Mediterranean region. The origin of Cupressus sempervirens is apparently in the East Mediterranean. A nice description of the site of origin of Cupressus was provided by the Roman philosopher Plinius: "cypress trees sprout spontaneously on Mt.

Cypress pollen counts in Israel.

In accordance with the terms of the modern world, this presentation is based on the WWW, with a small change in interpretation: WWW stands for Who? When? and Where?

Environment and sensitization to cypress in Israel.

Cypresses are part of the Israeli landscape, as well as they are over most of the Mediterranian area. Pollen dispersal starts in January and peaks in March-April. Assessment of hay-fever patients showed a prevalence of 24%-32% (depending on the region) sensitization to Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) pollen extracts.

Emergency room visits of asthmatic children, relation to air pollution, weather, and airborne allergens.

Background: The worldwide increase in the incidence, prevalence, and severity of asthma may suggest that environmental factors play a role in these epidemiologic changes.

Objective: To examine the correlations between air pollutants, weather conditions, airborne allergens, and the incidence of emergency room (ER) visits of children with acute asthma attacks.

Design: One-year prospective study.

Allergic responses to pollen of ornamental plants: high incidence in the general atopic population and especially among flower growers.

Background: The incidence of allergy to pollen of ornamental plants has not been deeply investigated, and its extent has remained obscure. Most of such studies have concentrated only on pollen of ornamental plants from the Asteraceae family (Compositae). In this study an attempt was made to clarify whether various other ornamental plants may also cause skin responses and allergic symptoms among allergic urban dwellers and among rural flower growers.

The 'traveling salesman problem': a new approach for identification of differences among pollen allergens.

Background: It is not easy to identify the specific plant species that causes an allergic response in a certain patient at a certain time. This is further complicated by the fact that closely related plant species cause similar allergic responses. A novel mathematical technique is used for analysis of skin responses of a large number of patients to several groups of allergens for improvement of the understanding of their similarity or dissimilarity and their status regarding cross-reactivity.

Allergenicity of the pollen of Pistacia.

Differences in IgE binding and skin responses to pollen extracts of four species of Pistacia, and some immunochemical characteristics of this pollen were investigated. The incidence of positive SPT among atopic patients varied between 31.5% to the pollen extracts of P.

Antigenicity of the pollen proteins of various cultivars of Olea europaea.

The incidence of positive skin test responses among atopic subjects with suspected respiratory allergy was investigated with commercial and autochthonous pollen extracts of various cultivars of Olea europaea. Pollen was collected from olive trees of well-defined cultivars, extracted, and separated by SDS-PAGE. Immunoblots were used to identify the various IgE-binding proteins of the pollen extracts of the various cultivars.

Hypersensitivity to pollen of Olea europaea in Israel.

The incidence of skin-tested sensitivity to olive pollen allergens among subjects with suspected atopic respiratory allergy was investigated in various populations of Israelis. This incidence was correlated with the olive cultivars, with the abundance of trees in the patient's neighborhoods, and with the history of exposure of the studied populations to olive pollen. Positive skin reactions to olive pollen, among atopic patients of the Jewish population, is rather high where olive trees are abundant (66%), and lower (29%) where trees are scarce (P < 0.

[Correlation between exposure to allergenic pollens and allergic manifestations].

Due to increase in allergic morbidity, better understanding of the relationships between environmental parameters and clinical responses of patients is needed. Serious analysis of such correlations requires examination of an entire population. So far there has been no study in Israel that examined an entire population in order to establish the distribution of inhalant allergens, the prevalence of skin hypersensitivity and allergic clinical morbidity.

The importance of the pecan tree pollen in allergic manifestations.

Background: Pecan tree pollen is considered to be highly allergenic. However, no specific scientific data about its role in causing allergic diseases are available.

Objective: To study the role of pecan tree pollen in the development of allergy.

Allergy to olive pollen: T-cell response from olive allergic patients is restricted by DR7-DQ2 antigens.

Background: We have recently described the association between the IgE antibody response to Ole e I (the major antigen from olive tree pollen) and the DR7-DQ2 haplotype in a Spanish population.

Objective And Methods: Due to the linkage disequilibrium between DR7 and DQ2, and thus the difficult distinction between the role of these two antigens in the T-cell activation response, we decided to solve this question by two approaches: 1. The study of another ethnic group, individuals of Arabic origin, with a presumably distinct disequilibrium linkage between DR and DQ antigens.

Podocarpus gracilior and Callitris verrucosa--newly identified allergens that crossreact with Cupressus sempervirens.

Thirty-six symptomatic patients, with positive skin reactions to Cupressus sempervirens pollen extract were skin-tested with pollen extracts of Podocarpus gracilior and Callitris verrucosa, of these 17 (47%) had positive responses to P. gracilior, nine (25%) to C. verrucosa, and six (17%) to both.

Sensitivity to olea Europaea pollen in different populations in Israel.

Sensitivity to olive pollen was studied (by skin tests) in different Israeli populations suffering from respiratory allergies. The results were compared with aerobiological data, in order to correlate amount of exposure to prevalence of sensitization. It was found that in the Jewish population, sensitivity to olive pollen developed in direct proportion with the number of olive trees in the settlement: 66% where trees density is high, 29% where it is low.

Clustering of allergenic pollen on the basis of skin responses of atopic patients by matrix analysis.

The responses of 148 atopic patients to some 43 different extracts of allergenic pollen were tested by prick tests. The measure of dissimilarity was introduced and calculated for all pairs of allergens. The investigated allergens were clustered into groups, according to their unbiased greatest similarity, by a matrix-structuring method.

[Allergic responses to date palm and pecan pollen in Israel].

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and pecan (Carya illinoensis) trees are commonly planted in Israel for fruit, for shade, or as ornamental plants. Pollen grains of both species are allergenic; however, the extent of exposure to such pollen and the incidence of allergic response have not been studied here. We therefore investigated skin-test responses to pollen extracts of 12 varieties of palm and 9 of pecan in 705 allergic patients living in 3 cities and 19 rural settlements.