POLLEN OF GRAMINEAE AND ITS RELATION WITH ALLERGIC EFFECTS 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 th ere are no similar comprehensive studies ill other areas of Latin Amer ica. A description of the sampling methods is presented, as well as an introduction to work presented throughout the volume. A hundred contr ol subjects were compared with 480 patients with rhinitis, conjuntivit is, bronchial asthma and/or atopic dermatitis. Poaceae pollen ranks fi rst in Type I allergic sensitivization, because (1) it produces abunda nt pollen, (2) occurs in a variety of climates and habitats and (3) it s proteins are particularly allergenic. In 1986, about 0.33% of the co untry's population became new allergy patients, and the rate is increa sing. The normal extraction methods were satisfactory and were applied to frozen pollen with a mean active life about three years. Prich tes ts 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).