Athena: Speciality Certificate Examination case for general dermatology and dermatology in primary healthcare.

A 25-year-old man presented with a 3-year history of pruritic, hyperpigmented, scaly, fissured plaques over the dorsa of the feet, which had not responded to topical steroids.

Annular atrophic lichen planus: a review of the literature.

Annular atrophic lichen planus (AALP) is a rare variant of lichen planus. It is differentiated from other variants of lichen planus by a reduction of elastin fibers in the superficial dermis, which is a feature specific to this subtype. It has clinical features of both annular and atrophic lichen planus and has a chronic course.

Clascoterone: a new topical anti-androgen for acne management.

Clascoterone is an androgen receptor inhibitor which has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older. It competes with androgens, especially dihydrotestosterone, for androgen-receptor binding and limits their binding, thus inhibiting downstream signaling of pathways involved in the pathogenesis of acne. It inhibits androgen receptor-regulated gene transcription, and antagonizes lipid and inflammatory cytokine production in a dose-dependent manner in human primary sebocytes.

Skin biopsy as an aid to diagnosis of disorders of the nervous system without cutaneous manifestations.

There are several neurological diseases wherein skin biopsy is useful for diagnosis, even in the absence of skin involvement. Skin biopsy is especially relevant in diseases in which the metabolic error is unknown or has no available diagnostic biochemical test. Skin biopsy, being relatively noninvasive, obviates the need for an invasive procedure such as a brain biopsy.

Neurolymphomatosis in Primary Cutaneous CD4+ Pleomorphic Small/Medium-sized T-cell Lymphoma Mimicking Hansen's Disease.

Neurolymphomatosis (NL) refers to nerve infiltration by neurotropic neoplastic cells in the setting of a known or an unknown hematological malignancy. It typically presents as painful or painless peripheral mononeuropathy, mononeuritis multiplex, polyneuropathy, polyradiculopathy, or cranial neuropathy. A 32-year-old male presented with a hyperpigmented hypoesthetic plaque over the anterolateral aspect of the right leg with thickening of the right common peroneal nerve and foot drop clinically diagnosed as Hansen's disease.

Syphilis of Fungal world: Novel Skin Manifestations of Histoplasmosis in an Immunocompetent Host.

A case of chronic disseminated cutaneous histoplasmosis with unusual skin manifestations in an immunocompetent host is reported. Presence of cutaneous ulcers, linear erythematous plaques, skin coloured atrophic plaques and recurrent self-limiting oral ulcers in a single patient has not been documented in literature so far. Diagnosis was established by identifying small intracellular yeast-like cells of Histoplasma in tissue smear and skin biopsy.

Postpartum pemphigoid gestationis.

Pemphigoid gestationis (PG) or herpes gestationis is a rare autoimmune subepidermal blistering disorder associated with pregnancy. The condition typically develops during the second or third trimester of pregnancy, but has been rarely reported in the first trimester and postpartum period. Here, we report a case of PG that presented for the first time in the postpartum period, associated with a low birth weight baby.

Localized psoriasis herpeticum: Case report and review of literature.

Kaposi's varicelliform eruption (KVE) is a widespread cutaneous eruption caused by viruses, especially herpes simplex virus in patients with pre-existing dermatoses. "Psoriasis herpeticum" refers to the rare occurrence of KVE in patients with psoriasis. We report a case of KVE localized to the face in a patient with exfoliative dermatitis secondary to psoriasis.

Purpuric macules with vesiculobullous lesions: a novel manifestation of Chikungunya.

Background: Chikungunya (CHIK) is an emerging viral disease with a myriad of cutaneous manifestations.

Aims: The aim of our study was to document the morphology and evolution of skin lesions in cases presenting with fever, purpuric macules and vesiculobullous lesions, to confirm its causative relationship with CHIK, and to investigate further in order to delineate possible mechanisms of bulla formation in these cases.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, descriptive hospital-based study was carried out at a tertiary health care centre in Kerala.

Sub-polar lepromatous leprosy localized to the face.

Leprosy is an infectious disease characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from tuberculoid to lepromatous disease with immunologically unstable borderline forms in between. In clinical practice cases often do not conform to a classical textbook description, which may lead to misdiagnosis if not properly investigated. A 22-year-old patient presented to us with erythematous plaques localized to the face.

Chronic idiopathic urticaria: comparison of clinical features with positive autologous serum skin test.

Background: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), in its extremely severe form, can pose a therapeutic challenge to the treating physician. It has been noted that in one third of such patients, autoantibodies against the IgE receptor are seen and such patients have more severe and unremitting urticaria.

Aim: To compare clinical features of autoimmune urticaria with those of other CIU patients.