Background: Ocrelizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the CD20 antigen found on B-cells. It is indicated in the treatment of both relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Objective: The aim of this study is to report and describe the characteristics of alopecia areata following treatment with ocrelizumab for multiple sclerosis. Results: Five patients were reported, two female and three male. Four of the five patients had alopecia areata of the scalp, one of the five having alopecia to the beard area. All patients responded well to conventional treatment with topical and intralesional corticosteroids and topical minoxidil foam. Ocrelizumab can be associated with the development of alopecia areata. Initiation of proper treatment may lead to quick improvement or resolution of this potentially reversible adverse effect.

The pre-B phenotype of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in which the p immunoglobulin molecule is expressed in the cytoplasm of the blast cells, has been shown to have independent prognostic significance. Patients with this phenotype of the disease tend to have a poorer outcome on contemporary treatment regimens than do those with the other B-precursor pheonotypes. For these clinical studies, the detection of the pre-B phenotype has depended upon fluorescent-microscope based techniques. A flow-cytometry based technique for the detection of the cytoplasmic p immunoglobulin molecule is presented here and the results compared in detail with those of fluorescent microscopy. The results show that the two techniques are equivalent. The flow cytometry method has the advantage of a standardized control, is less labor intensive, and is observer-independent.

Dermatology has a very distinctive lexicon. The term pityriasis refers to several dermatologic conditions which all feature scaling of the skin. According to the Merriam‐Webster dictionary, the term pityriasis was first used in print in 1684. Although the diseases beginning with the name pityriasis are of diverse causation, they do represent important dermatologic diseases, with some common and others quite rare. It is important for dermatologists to be aware and updated on all pityriasis conditions in dermatology.