Granos de polen anemófilos: sensibilización en pacientes alérgicos / Anemophilic pollen grains: sensitization in allergic patients

A nivel mundial, los aeroalérgenos más frecuentes causantes de enfermedades alérgicas son los granos de polen anemófilos. Estos han sido capaces de desencadenar crisis que han reflejado una elevada morbilidad. En Cuba los estudios de sensibilización a granos de polen han sido escasos. Con el objetivo de determinar la sensibilización a granos de polen en pacientes alérgicos y su relación con la presencia de enfermedades alérgicas, se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo de corte transversal, no aleatorizado, de marzo a junio del 2019. La muestra se constituyó de 33 pacientes con asma, rinitis, rinoconjuntivitis alérgica, dermatitis atópica y conjuntivitis alérgica. A todos los pacientes se les realizó historia clínica alergológica y prueba cutánea por punción con extractos alergénicos de: Helianthus annus, Cosmos bipinnatus, Cynodon dactylon, Quercus sp, Eucaliptus sp. Se aplicaron las frecuencias absolutas, porcientos, desviación estándar, promedio, edad media y test de Spearman para su análisis. La edad media de la muestra fue de 36,9 años, con predominio de mujeres. Más del 50por ciento de los pacientes presentaron sensibilización a granos de polen; y de ellos, el 24,24por ciento resultaron polisensibilizados. El mayor porcentaje de sensibilización fue a Cynodon dactylon. La rinitis alérgica fue la enfermedad que prevaleció en la población estudiada(AU)

Nowadays, the most frequent aeroallergens causing allergy diseases have been anemophilous pollen grains. They have been able to triggers crises that have reflected a high morbidity. In Cuba, studies of sensitization to pollen grains have been scarce. The objective of our research was to determine the sensitization to pollen grains in allergic patients and its relationship with the presence of allergic diseases. A non-randomized, descriptive, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted from March to June 2019. The sample consisted of 33 patients with asthma, allergic rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and allergic conjunctivitis. All patients underwent allergic history and skin prick test testing with allergenic extracts of: Helianthus annus, Cosmos bipinnatus, Cynodon dactylon, Quercus sp, Eucalyptus sp. Absolute frequencies, percentages, standard deviation, mean, average age, and Spearman´s test were applied for analysis. The average age of the sample was 36.9 years, with a predominance of women. More than 50percent of the patients presented sensitization to pollen grains; of them, 24.24percent polysensitized. The highest percentage of sensitization was to Cynodon dactylon. Allergic rhinitis was the disease that prevailed in the population studied(AU)

Phylogenetic Identification, Diversity, and Richness of Aspergillus from Homes in Havana, Cuba.

Aspergillus is one of the most common fungal genera found indoors; it is important because it can cause a wide range of diseases in humans. Aspergillus species identification is based on a combination of morphological, physiological, and molecular methods. However, molecular methodologies have rarely been used for the identification of environmental isolates of Aspergillus in Cuba. Therefore, the objective of this work was to identify the species of the genus Aspergillus obtained from houses in Havana, Cuba, through the construction of phylogeny from a partial sequence of the benA gene region, and to analyze the diversity and richness of Aspergillus in the studied municipalities. Isolates of Aspergillus spp. included in this study presented the typical macro- and micromorphology described for the genus. According to this polyphasic characterization, A. niger, A. flavus, A. welwitschiae, A. heteromorphus, A. sydowii, A. tamarii, A. fumigatus, A. clavatus, and A. tubingensis were the most abundant species. Most of the identified species constitute new records for outdoor and indoor environments in Cuba and contribute to the knowledge of fungal biodiversity in the country. These results constitute an alert for the health authorities of the country, since prolonged exposure of the inhabitants to Aspergillus spores can cause severe persistent asthma, among other diseases.