Abstract
purpose:Boehmeria nivea(Ramie)is a plant of genus Boehmeria in the Urcicaceae(Urtica family)and is widely distributed in Japan, China and Southeast Asia. In Nagasaki area, the pollen of Boehmeria nivea is the most numerous among the scattered pollens in the weed season, and consequently it was studied to see if bronchial asthma was caused by the pollen of Boehmeria nivea, as well as to apprehend the clinical picture of asthma patients sensitized by the pollen of Boehmeria nivea. Subjects and methods:For 219 cases of asthma patients in the Second Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Pediatrics of the Nagasaki University Hospital, various allergological tests were performed. Results:Intracutaneous test due to pollen allergen of Boehmeria nivea was positive in as high as 21.8% of asthma patients in the Department of Internal Medicine and in 11.1% of those in the Department of Pediatrics. These positive patients underwent further tests such as threshold value of skin test, Prausnitz-Kustner test and provocation test(bronchia test)and, as the result, 5 cases of Boehmeria nivea pollen induced asthma were found. Those cases sensitized by the pollen of Boehmeria nivea showed the findings of so-called typical atopic asthma. Since a number of species of genus Boehmeria such as B. tricuspis and B. Spicata are distributed thoughout Asia and also in North America, it was considered that pollinosis and pollen asthma due to these plants might be exist all over the world mostly in Asia as well as in Japan. The author proposed to call this pollen asthma due to genus Boehmeria as"Ramie pollen asthma."
