Background: Alopecia areata is a disease, in which patients’ loss hairs as random patches due to autoimmune complications. Tofacitinib acts as an inhibiter in the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway and is an effective drug approved for the of rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Limited evidence is available on the role of tofacitinib in treatment of alopecia areata. Aim and Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of tofacitinib in treatment of alopecia areata patients visiting the tertiary care center of North India. Materials and Methods: Total 17 patients with alopecia areata were recruited in this study and prescribed with the tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily for 6 months. Severity of alopecia tool (SALT) was used to analyze the severity of hair loss. The SALT score measures the total percent of hair loss in all area of scalp. A higher SALT score indicates higher hair loss. Results: The mean age of the patients was 27.88 ± 16.30 years with male-to-female sex ratio of 2.4:1. The mean duration of disease was 32.29 ± 22.14 months. There was a significant decrease in the SALT score (P = 0.0001) following the 6 months tofacitinib treatment. Conclusion: Tofacitinib was found to be effective in the treatment of alopecia areata. Further multicentric studies with ample sample size are required to establish tofacitinib as a standard treatment for the alopecia areata.

Background: Leprosy is a communicable illness that is notorious for causing gradual and lifelong physical impairment. It affects peripheral nerves, the epidermis, and the mucosa of the upper respiratory tracts. The prevalence rate and yearly new case detection ratio in Haryana State are 0.23 and 1.57, respectively. Since, medical students are the future doctors of the society, it is vital that undergraduate medical students to be well rehearsed in the signs and symptoms and management of leprosy and National program for leprosy running in India. Therefore, survey is being conducted to study knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students toward leprosy and leprosy affected patients and compare knowledge and attitude among the recently admitted students and the outgoing students. Aims and Objectives: Evaluation of knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students toward leprosy. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted at medical college in Himachal Pradesh between July and December with total of 600 UG medical students selected randomly for the study. Data were gathered using a self-administered, pre-designed, and pre-tested questionnaire. Results: Out of the total 600 participants of the study, 329 (54.8%) were male students and 271 (45.2%) were female students. Maximum male students were in 3rd professional part II (58.7%). Students of 2nd prof., 3rd prof part I and 3rd Prof part II gave more correct answers to the questions assessing the knowledge about leprosy as compared to the 1st prof students. A significant difference was found between the knowledge, awareness, and attitude of recently admitted and outgoing undergraduate students. Conclusion: In the present study, majority of the participants, that is, around 54.8% were males and rest were females. In comparison to 1st-year students, students in the second and third Prof gave more accurate responses to questions concerning leprosy, including those testing knowledge of the disease’s common name, its cause, its mode of transmission, its kinds, its treatments, and its deformities. Most students across all professions gave negative answers when asked about their attitude, demonstrating their favorable feelings about leprosy sufferers.

Background: Syphilis remains a global health problem with recent reports of resurgence from various parts of the world. We undertook this study to analyze the current epidemiological and clinical trends of syphilis in our part of the country. Aim and Objectives: To analyze the changing trends in clinical presentation of syphilis and the current status of HIV/AIDS-syphilis co-infection in our area. Materials and Methods: This is a hospital-based retrospective analysis of records of sexually transmitted disease (STD) patients enrolled in “Suraksha clinic” in the department of Skin and VD at a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India. Patient records were analyzed from January 2018 to December 2021. The demographic, clinical, and serological profiles of patients were assessed to study the percentage of syphilis patients attending the STD clinic and their clinical presentations. Results: A total of 7153 patients were enrolled in the”Suraksha clinic” from January 2018 to December 2021, these included the venereal disease patients (3137) and nonvenereal disease patients (4016) who were registered for HIV and venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) screening from the dermatology outpatient department. Out of 3137 sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients, 139 patients tested positive for VDRL. Treponema pallidum hemagglutination was found positive in 137 patients and negative in two patients. Hence, 137 patients were confirmed syphilis cases, constituting 4.36% of total STD cases in our STI clinic in 4 years. Out of 137 patients, 2 (1.45%) presented with primary chancre, 6 (4.37%) with lesions of secondary syphilis and 129 (94.16%) were found serologically reactive without any symptoms or clinical signs, i.e., in latent syphilis. Our records also showed 14 (10.21%) cases of HIV and syphilis co-infection. Conclusion: In our study, a remarkable rise in the number of patients in the latent syphilis stage is observed over primary and secondary syphilis stage. This signifies the persistence of syphilis in subclinical phase in the community and unfortunately, it goes unnoticed. These could be “warning signs” for changing disease pattern of syphilis in India and points toward hidden resurgence of syphilis as being reported in various parts of the world. To actively look for these “hidden cases,” there is a need to strengthen “Suraksha clinics.” VDRL testing should be mandatory along with routine testing in all patients visiting the hospital irrespective of their disease. We also propose for the central registration of syphilis patients on lines of HIV-infected patients' registry.

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