Two hundred and fifty patients including .153 males and 97 females with alopecia areata (AA) and 100 age and sex matched controls were studied. Eighty percent patients had the onset before 30 years of age. The alopecia started at younger age in females compared to males. Forty two (16.8%) patients developed alopecia totalis / universalis or extensive aloppcia areata. The sites affected were scalp (83.6%), extremities (36%), beard (20%) and eyebrows (13%). Onset of alopecia was, preceded by mild itching in, 17 (16. 80/,) patients. The family history of alopecia areata was positive in 26 (10.40/o) patients, and 61 (24.4%) patients had personal and /or family history of atopy. Nail changes were seen in 67 (26.8%) patients and twenty five (37.3%) of these had severe forms of alopecia areata. Vitiligo was associated in 6 (2.5%) patients

Pretreatment of skin with topical corticosteroid followed by pricking the skin with histamine solution, results in relative suppression ' of histamine response. The reduction in the diameter of the wheal has been used to assess the relative efficacy of topical corticosteroids. The wheal being three dimensional, we have improved the above modelbymeasuringthe volume rather thanthe diameter of the wheal, which was found to be more accurate and reproducible.

One hundred patients having pirosea were examined for oral lesions. Only one case showed a small ulcer in the buccal mucosa, which resolved concomitantly with the lesions within 3 weeks.

Five women with lympho-cutaneous sporotrichosis with a mean age of 46.8 years, were seen over the last 3 years. Four belonged to rural Himachal Pradesh and one to Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Upper extremity was affected in three patients. Sporotrichum schenkie was isolated form 3 patients and confirmed by the mice pathogenicity test. S ' Schenki was demonstrated in the histopathology specimen in one patient. All the patients responded to oral potassium iodide, complete clearance occurring after a mean period of 3.5 months. One patient developed mild iodism and another had crythema nodosu'm like eurption during treatment. Himachal Pradesh seems to be harbouring pockets of sporotrichosis.

An 8 year old boy had recurrent episodes of erythematous papulo - vesicular eruptions on the trunk and extremities persisting for the last 4 years. Repeated biopsies revealed spongiotic acantholysis and pemphigus vulgaris in two separate biopsies. Direct immunofluorescence for fixed antibodies and indirect immunofluorescence for circulating antibodies were negative for IgG, IgA, IgM and C3. This condition is described in patients past 40 years of age. Ours is perhaps the . first child patient with this condition.

Pachyonychia congenital was seen in two different families. In one family the disease was present in only one child, while in the other family the disease was traceable in 5 generations involving 36 members. One individual had associated mental retardation.

Adenoid squamous cell carcinoma occurred on the sole, an area not exposed to sunlight and devoid of pilosebaceous structure. Histopathologically, it showed atypical squamous cells, horn pearls, large alveolar spaces with papillary projections and acantholytic cells.

A 15 year old female developed twenty nail dystrophy I at the age of 7 years, with formation of pterygium. There was no associated skin, mucous membrane, hair or other ectodermal abnormality. It is considered that lichen planus may be responsible for this condition.

Case _ having recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa with severe blistering,scarring, inilia, mucosal ulcerations, corneal involvement, teeth anomalies and deformities of hands and feet had the unusual feature of congenital cortical cataract.

In a case of pemphigus foliaceus, the initial clinical presentation was like dermatitis herpetiformis. The patient responded to low doses of corticosteroids.

Two cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Trivandrum acquired the infection while residing in Saudi Arabia. One patient responded to trivalent antimony (Fantorin) and the other to dapsone.