There is a significant use of CAM among dermatology outpatients in Saudi Arabia. In view of the common belief that CAM has fewer side effects than conventional medicine, dermatologists need to increase their awareness of CAM.

INTRODUCTION:Although acne vulgaris is common in adolescents, information on their understanding of acne is minimal.OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the perceptions and beliefs of Saudi youth on acne.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Three hundred twenty-nine male students (aged 13–22 years) from 6 secondary schools in the Eastern Saudi Arabia completed a self-reported questionnaire on knowledge, causation, exacerbating and relieving factors of acne. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 15.0. Results of subjects with acne, a family history of acne, and parents' educational levels were compared. Differences between the analyzed groups were assessed by a Chi-square test; p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS:Over half (58.9%) of the participants considered acne a transient condition not requiring therapy. Only 13.1% knew that the proper treatment of acne could take a long time, even several years. Over half (52%) thought acne can be treated from the first or after few visits to the doctor. Popular sources of information were television/radio (47.7%), friends (45.6%), and the internet (38%). Only 23.4% indicated school as a source of knowledge. Reported causal factors included scratching (88.5%) and squeezing (82.1%) of pimples, poor hygiene (83.9%), poor dietary habits (71.5%), and stress (54.1%). Ameliorating factors included frequent washing of the face (52.9%), exercise (41.1%), sunbathing (24.1%), and drinking of mineral water (21%). The correlations of these facts are discussed.CONCLUSION:Results of this study point out that misconceptions of acne are widespread among Saudi youth. A health education program is needed to improve the understanding of the condition.

Granuloma Gluteale Infantum (GGI) is a rare condition of unclear etiology,[1] presenting as asymptomatic cherry red nodules in the diaper area appearing in the setting of primary irritant contact dermatitis.[2] A 50 day old infant with GGI is presented to emphasize that the condition may be easily missed, and that it may result from the misuse of fluorinated topical steroids used to treat a rash in the diaper area. This is the first case reported from Saudi Arabia.

Background:Students’ perception of their educational environment has a significant impact on their behavior and academic progress.Aim:The aim of the study is to assess the perceptions of undergraduate medical students regarding their educational environment at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.Subjects and Methods:This cross-sectional study utilized the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory to collect data from 5th-year medical students at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University during the academic year 2010–2011 (score range: 0–200). The mean scores for each individual item and for the following five contributing DREEM domains were calculated: Perception of learning, perception of teaching, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere and social self-perception.Results:The questionnaire was distributed to 121 students, all of whom completed the questionnaire. Of these, 65.3% were male and 34.7% were female. The mean total score was 126.4 (63%), indicating that the educational environment is satisfactory. The two lowest scoring contributory domains were academic self-perception (17.4/28; 60%) and perception of learning (29.3/48; 61%). No areas of excellence were identified (i.e., mean scores of >3.5); however, four main problematic areas were identified (mean scores of ≤2.0): Overemphasis of factual learning (1.66), difficulty with authoritarianism of teachers (1.55), students unable to memorize everything (1.82) and boredom in course (1.81).Conclusion:This study found that the overall educational environment at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University is satisfactory, with further scope of improvement. The author recommends implementation of remedial measures such as modifications in curriculum and using innovative teaching strategies to overcome problematic areas and further improve the overall educational environment.

Although we found no difference in melanogenic cells in neurofibromas from patients with NF1 relative to the sporadic group, we did find a significant population of nestin-positive progenitor cells in neurofibromas from patients with NF1. In light of recent evidence linking formation of neural neoplasms such as neurofibroma to alterations in the self-renewal program of stem/progenitor cells, our findings reinforce the potentially tumorigenic role of nestin-positive progenitor cells in neurofibromas from patients with NF1.