Context:Amyloidosis, which is characterized by the extracellular deposition of a proteinaceous substance, is usually associated with considerable tissue dysfunction. However, the etiology of the disease remains uncertain and the treatment disappointing.Aim:1. To know the epidemiology of cutaneous amyloidosis 2. To evaluate the effect of dimethylsulphoxide on cutaneous amyloidosis.Settings and Design:Data was collected from patients attending the Outpatient Department (OPD) over a period of one year.Material and Methods:Patients were screened on the basis of signs and symptoms and then confirmed histologically. A total of 62 patients who were suspected to be suffering from amyloidosis on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms and 38 patients who were further confirmed histopathologically underwent the treatment.Statistical Analysis Used:Chi-square test was used for testing the significance of proportions.Results:63.15 percent of the patients had macular amyloidosis and the interscapular area was the most common area involved (52.63%). Pruritus, pigmentation, and papules responded excellently to dimethylsulphoxide after one month of treatment.Conclusions:Cutaneous amyloidosis is a disease found in middle-aged persons, with a female preponderance, and dimethylsulphoxide seems to be an effective therapy.

Aim of the Study: Malaria is a major health problem in the tropics with increased morbidity and mortality. Thrombocytopenia is a common finding in malaria. Although a reliable diagnostic marker, prognostic implications could vary in the two types of malaria. This study was undertaken to assess the presence and severity of thrombocytopenia in malaria patients. Design: A total of 120 patients were included in the study and identified positive for malaria parasites on peripheral smear examination with conventional microscopy. Platelet count was done on a fully automated, quantitative, hematology analyzer. Results: Thrombocytopenia was noted in 63.33% cases. The mean platelet count in Plasmodium vivax (Pv) malaria was 1,27,652/μl (SD 78,269) with a range of 8000-3,50,000/μl, as against Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria where the mean platelet count was 78,500/μl (SD 51,485) with a range of 9000-1,90,000/μl. Platelet count < 50,000/μl was noted in only 17.4% cases of Pv malaria as against 33.3% cases of Pf malaria. Conclusion: Although absence of thrombocytopenia is uncommon in malaria, its presence is not a distinguishing feature between the two types of malaria. Our study stresses the importance of thrombocytopenia as an indicator of acute malaria.

A case of repigmentation of the scalp hair following photosensitive dermatitis is reported. The possible clinical application of this observation has been discussed.

The objective was to detect nucleic acids of M. leprae in skin lesions of leprosy patients and study the effect of treatment on these nucleic acids, using r-RNA gene probes, using a cross sectional study. The study was carried out at Department of Paediatrics, S.N. Medical College, Agra and Department of Microbiology, Central JALMA Institute for leprosy, Agra. The study included 32 cases of leprosy less than 16 years of age, divided into 3 groups viz. without treatment (12 cases), in middle of treatment (11 cases) and at the end of treatment (9 cases). All cases were subjected to a detailed history and thorough clinical examination. All of them had smear examination and lepromin test done and their skin biopsies were subjected to gene detection. Nucleic acids were isolated from skin biopsies of all cases by standard procedure. After dot blotting of these nucleic acids, they were hybridised with radioactive (p32) r-RNA probes. The results were interpreted after getting the X-ray films processed with background signals from controls. Majority of cases were between 13-16 years of age. As age advanced, the disease moved from tuberculoid end of spectrum towards lepromatous end (p < 0.05). Majority of paucibacillary (PB) cases were lepromin positive while majority of multibacillary (MB) cases were lepromin negative (p < 0.05). In specimens of untreated cases, 50% of PB specimens and 87.5% of MB specimens were positive for r-RNA probes. In multibacillary type 100% smear positive specimens and 67% smear negative specimens were positive for r-RNA probes. In patients during the middle of treatment positivity for r-RNA decreased and 20% of PB specimens and 16.6% MB specimens were positive. At the end of treatment (1 year for PB cases and 2 years for MB cases), the results of r-RNA were negative, which indicated that the treatment regimens used in the study were effective. This study supports the usefulness of r-RNA probes as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in childhood leprosy.