Background:Various treatment modalities including non-invasive methods such as chemical peels, topical retinoids, microdermabrasion, minimally invasive techniques such as microneedling, fractional lasers, microneedling radiofrequency devices and invasive procedures such as acne scar surgeries and ablative lasers are used for acne scars, each with its own unique advantages and disadvantages. This study is a retrospective assessment of efficacy and safety of microneedling fractional radiofrequency in the treatment of acne scars.Methods:Thirty one patients of skin types III-V with moderate and severe facial acne scarring received four sequential fractional radiofrequency treatments over a period of 6 months with an interval of 6 weeks between each session. Goodman & Baron's acne scar grading system was used for assessment by a side by side comparison of preoperative and post- operative photographs taken at their first visit and at the end of 3 months after the last session.Results:Estimation of improvement with Goodman and Baron's Global Acne Scarring System showed that by qualitative assessment of 31 patients with grade 3 and grade 4 acne scars, 80.64% showed improvement by 2 grades and 19.35% showed improvement by 1 grade. Quantitative assessment showed that 58% of the patients had moderate, 29% had minimal, 9% had good and 3% showed very good improvement. Adverse effects were limited to transient pain, erythema, edema and hyperpigmentation.Conclusion:Microneedling fractional radiofrequency is efficacious for the treatment of moderate and severe acne scars.

Odontoid process is the central pillar of the craniovertebral junction. Imaging of this small structure continues to be a challenge for the radiologists due to complex bony and ligamentous anatomy. A wide range of developmental and acquired abnormalities of odontoid have been identified. Their accurate radiologic evaluation is important as different lesions have markedly different clinical course, patient management, and prognosis. This article seeks to provide knowledge for interpreting appearances of odontoid on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with respect to various disease processes, along with providing a quick review of the embryology and relevant anatomy.

Background:Chronic urticaria (CU) is defined as urticaria persisting daily or almost daily for more than 6 weeks and affecting 0.1% of the population. Mast cell degranulation and histamine release are of central importance in the pathogenesis of CU. About 40-50% of the patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) or chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) demonstrates an immediate wheal and flare response to intradermal injected autologous serum. This led to the concept of autoimmune urticaria (AIU).Aims:To determine the occurrence, clinical features, associated clinical conditions, comorbidities of AIU, and to compare this with CSU. This study aimed to find the frequency of autologous serum skin test (ASST)-positive patients among patients with CSU and to identify the clinical and laboratory parameters associated with positive ASST and to compare the treatment outcome.Materials and Methods:A prospective correlation study in 110 patients with CSU was conducted, after screening 200 CU patients attending the outpatient Department of Dermatology during from January 2012 to May 2013. Patients were subjected to ASST, complete blood counts, urine routine examination, liver function tests, renal function tests, thyroid function tests (T3, T4, and TSH), and urine analysis.Results:Out of 200 CU patients screened, 90 patients had excludable causes based on detailed history and skin prick test, and the remaining 110 patients were considered to have CSU. These 110 patients were further subjected to ASST, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), and peripheral blood eosinophilia. ASST was positive in 48 patients and negative in 62 patients. Frequency of urticarial attacks and associated diseases such as abnormal thyroid function tests in both ASST-positive and ASST-negative patients did not show any statistical significance. Only attacks of angioedema in ASST-positive individuals were higher and were statistically significant. In the ASST-positive group, 31 (81.25%) patients showed improvement with first-line antihistamines, along with oral prednisolone and injection Histaglobulin and 10 (10.41%) patients did not show any improvement. Thirty-three (43.54%) patients in the ASST-negative group showed improvement while 13 (30.62%) patients did not show improvement.Conclusion:ASST is considered a screening test for AIU, which decreases the rate of diagnosis of idiopathic form of CU. ASST-positive patients in addition to antihistamines, were treated with short course of oral steroids and weekly Histaglobulin injections for 5 weeks followed by the 3rd and 6th months.

Porokeratosis is a disorder of epidermal proliferation in which many different clinical variants can be distinguished. Herein we report a rare case of porokeratosis involving almost all parts of the body with simultaneous occurrence of various forms of the disease in the same individual (classical porokeratosis of Mibelli, disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis, hypertrophic porokeratosis, and genital porokeratosis).