Mesquite pollen--an aeroallergen in asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Skin reactions to mesquite pollen extract occurred in 62% of 100 consecutive patients tested at an adult allergy clinic despite absence of the plant within about a 50-mile radius. Radioallergosorbent test (RAST) studies confirmed that the skin tests represented specific IgE antibodies to the mesquite pollen. Nasal, conjunctival, and bronchial challenges indicated that mesquite provoked symptoms in a specific manner. The pollen was trapped at a considerable distance from its source. Mesquite surveys and climatologic data suggested a route and method of transport. Mesquite pollen is a potent allergen capable of evoking immediate hypersensitivity reactions in a susceptible population remote from the plant source.
D000397:Air Pollution; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis; D011058:Pollen; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000209:etiology*
D007073:Immunoglobulin E