Introduction. Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease-causing non-scarring alopecia. It is usually treated with immunosuppressive agents, to which some patients fail to respond adequately. Material and Methods. Three patients with AA refractory to standard therapy were treated with intra-dermal injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) every four weeks. Results. All three patients showed remarkable improvement after multiple sessions of PRP treatment. Conclusion. Autologous PRP is safe and effective in treatment-resistant forms of AA demonstrated in many case reports; therefore it deserves further study with randomized, placebo-controlled trials.

IB, et al. Effectiveness of ethinyl oestradiol / cyproterone acetate and ethinyl oestradiol/ desogestrel with or without low-dose metformin on perceived health-related quality of life in hirsute women with polycystic ovary disease: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Index words: adipocyte dysfunction, cardio-metabolic risk factors, hirsutism, polycystic ovarian disease, visceral adiposity index) 1 Abstract Introduction Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a mathematical index derived from the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (W C), serum fasting triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). It reflects visceral adipocyte dysfunction (VAD) and is associated with cardiometabolic risk. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have adipocyte dysfunction, which is associated with metabolic disorders. Hirsutism in PCOS is considered to be due to high insulin levels which enhances androgen activity at the pilosebaceous unit.Objectives To determine the association between VAI, hirsutism and cardiometabolic risk factors in patients with PCOS.Methods A total of 99 patients aged 18-40 years with PCOS diagnosed by the Rotterdam consensus criteria-2003 and a hirsutism score of 8 or more according to the Ferriman-Gallway Score (FGS) were studied. BMI, WC, fasting lipid profile, serum leptin, insulin, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), free-androgen index (FAI), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were determined. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-beta, HOMA-insulin resistance (IR) and VAI were calculated. Diameter and rate of hair growth at sideburns and chin; density of hair at sideburns were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS-22.0.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. ResultsThere was no significant association between parameters of hirsutism and VAI. There was a significant association between VAI and OGTT, FAI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure: but not between VAI and other metabolic parameters.Conclusion Visceral adipocyte dysfunction is closely linked to glucose intolerance and blood pressure in women with PCOS. However, hirsutism is unlikely to be due to adipocyte dysfunction.

Background: Dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection found in hot and humid areas particularly in tropical regions and affects the keratinized regions of the body. It is usually treated with a combination of topical and systemic antifungal therapy as well as improved hygienic measures. Over the last few decades there has been an increase in the prevalence of dermatophyte infections which are poorly responding to standard antifungal therapy. Methods: Modified Whitfield's ointment is a combination of 5%-5% Salicylic acid and Benzoic acid with an emulsifying ointment as a vehicle which has both a fungistatic and a keratolytic action. Oral Griseofulvin is a systemic antifungal agent which is a fungistatic agent. The combination of the above agents is synergistic. A randomized double blind, within-patient-placebo-controlled trial was designed for the treatment of dermatophytosis poorly responsive to standard antifungal therapy. Conclusions: This may shed light on the treatment of dermatophytosis poorly responsive to standard antifungal therapy. Trial Registration: This trial is registered with WHO trial registry number (Universal trial number): U111-1235-8791.

Cetirizine is a commonly used antihistamine in the management of itchy dermatoses, allergic reactions and cutaneous drug eruptions. However, it can rarely be the causative agent in cutaneous drug eruptions. Here we report a case of cetirizine-induced fixed drug eruption (FDE).