Background: BCG vaccine as an antigen has proved its effectiveness as an immunotherapy for viral warts. Tuberculin is an antigenic extract of M. tuberculosis capable of eliciting an immunological skin reaction. Objective: To assess the efficacy of tuberculin intralesional injection in the treatment of viral warts. Patients and Methods: This single ,blind, placebo controlled study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq from March 2010 to July 2011.Forty-one patients with different types of viral warts were enrolled in this study; tuberculin test was done to patients prior to instillation of intralesional treatment. Then the patients treated by intralesional tuberculin in each lesion located on the right side of the body, and intralesional distilled water in each lesion located on the left side of to a maximum of 3 injections, at 2 weeks interval or until full resolution of these lesions. Patients were evaluated every 2 weeks to assess the regression of their lesions and to record any local and systemic adverse effects. The response to treatment was evaluated by decrease in size and reduction in number of warts. Scoring of response to treatment was as follow: 1) Responders: including patients who showed complete cure or those with good response (>50% reduction). 2) Non responders: including patients who showed minimal response (<50% reduction), or those with no improvement (stable disease and disease progression). The follow up period lasted up to 2 months after the last dose. Results: Thirty out of 41 patients had completed the study, of them 14 (46.66%) patients showed response of their lesions on the right side of the body that were treated with tuberculin; 15 patients showed no response, 1 patient showed minimal response, 7 patients showed good response and 7 patients showed complete cure (23.

A total of 50 Iraqi male patients with frictional hair loss were studied. Their ages ranged from 27-55 years with a mean +/- SD of 40.60 +/- 7.82 years. The age of onset ranged from 26-50 years with a mean +/- SD of 38 +/- 7.3 years. The duration of disease was 1-5 years, mean +/- SD 2.2 +/- 1.3. Middle age was the most common age group affected. Patterns of hair loss were as follows; bilateral thighs & legs 13 (26%), bilateral thighs alone in 9 patients (18%), bilateral shins & calves (legs) in 4 patients (8%), abdomen alone in 8 patients (16%), thigh and abdomen 4 (8%) patients, legs & abdomen 4 (8%) patients, and all sites in 12 patients (24%). The pattern of patchy hair loss showed some etiological preference. It was found to be due to continuous pressure from socks, trousers and bed. Skin biopsies from five patients showed apparently normal histology. Twenty-six (52%) of the cases were healthy. There were no important medical or dermatological associations, such as alopecia areata or peripheral neuropathy in any patient although unrelated medical conditions were seen in 24 (48%). To the best of our knowledge, this type of patchy hair loss has attracted very little attention in the past, and the literature appeared to be deficient in references to this problem.

Skin biopsy is an essential investigation for dermatologists. Histopathological findings in skin biopsies frequently assist dermatologist in the diagnosis and management of skin diseases. Objective: The study conducted to determine the types and reasons for biopsies & correlate the dermatologist diagnosis with that of histopathologist. This is a descriptive case-series two-year study of the dermato-pathological lesions encountered in the Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital. One year comprised the file based part and the second year follow-up part of the study. The study started in October 2008 to October 2010. Three hundred cases formed the total sample studied, 19 of them were defaulted from the study for unknown cause. A total of 281 patients completed the study out of which 102 cases comprised the file based part and 179 cases were the followed-up. Biopsy specimens were immediately placed in 10% buffered formalin. Routine sections were 3-5 µm thick. They were stained with routine Hematoxylin and eosin stains and special stains and cell Markers like Verhoeff von Gieson, Giems; CD1a, CD3, CD19, CD20, Bcl-2, S-100 protein, MART-1/MelanA, EMA when necessary. Results: The anatomic distribution pattern revealed that the head and neck were involved in the maximum number of case 107(38.07%) table 1.

This new feature will emphasize innovative and better ways to perform dermatologic surgery procedures. This article should be based on some evidence-based literature, but may describe the author's experience with a particular procedure without being a typical clinical