The allergenic content of the atmosphere varies according to climate, geography
and vegetation. Data on the presence and prevalence of allergenic airborne
pollens, obtained from both aerobiological studies and allergological investigations,
make it possible to design pollen calendars with the approximate flowering
period of the plants in the sampling area. In this way, even though pollen
production and dispersal from year to year depend on the patterns of preseason
weather and on the conditions prevailing at the time of anthesis, it is usually
possible to forecast the chances of encountering high atmospheric allergenic
pollen concentrations in different areas.Aerobiological and allergological studies
show that the pollen map of Europe is changing also as a result of cultural
factors (for example, importation of plants such as birch and cypress for urban
parklands), greater international travel (e.g. colonization by ragweed in France,
northern Italy, Austria, Hungary etc.) and climate change. In this regard, the
higher frequency of weather extremes, like thunderstorms, and increasing episodes
of long range transport of allergenic pollen represent new challenges for
researchers. Furthermore, in the last few years, experimental data on pollen and
subpollen-particles structure, the pathogenetic role of pollen and the interaction
between pollen and air pollutants, gave new insights into the mechanisms of
respiratory allergic diseases

CLICCARE QUI PER SCARICARE Allergenic pollen and pollen allergy in Europe_2007