ABSTRACT: One hundred and fifty eight lesions of acute cutaneous leishmaniasis in 70 patients were treated with hypertonic sodium chloride solution (88 lesions), pentostam (50 lesions) and 20 lesions were left untreated as controls. The injections were given at 7-10 day intervals and patients were followed-up for 42 days. Hypertonic sodium chloride solution was shown to be very effective local therapy (96 percent cure rate) and was as effective as local pentostam (96.4 percent cure rate). In both types of therapy most lesions needed one injection. Mild improvement was noticed after 7-10 days of the first injection while the cure was noticed within 2-6 weeks (mean 4 weeks) of follow up. None of the control lesions showed a cure within the 6 weeks follow-up. The mechanism of action of both local hypertonic sodium chloride and sodium stibogluconate (pentostam) is probably through interfering with osmotic pressure of cell cytoplasm of the parasites and the lesional tissues. Scarring was either absent or minimal following healing of the treated lesions in both types of treatment. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation was observed in all patients. We strongly recommend intralesional hypertonic sodium chloride as a cheap, safe, and effective method of treating cutaneous leishmaniasis.

ABSTRACT: Ninteen of the twenty three vitiligo patients showed 30 to 95 percent skin repigmentation during forty eight weeks herbal therapy period when examined irrespective of different hypotheses concerning the pathogenesis of the skin depigmentation including vitiligo. More than 50 percent of the vitiligo patients under the trial depicted a speedy and well marked skin repigmentation ranging from 45 to 95 percent by the herbal drugs under examination. Whereas one patient showed a hundred percent recovery of the disorder. No severe neuropathy, ulcerative stomatitis, allergic reaction or any toxic side effect was noticed by the use of herbal combination under the study in any of the vitiligo patients during or at the completion of the herbal treatment.

ABSTRACT: Dermatological changes were recorded in 344 (18.4 percent) out of 1866 male patients (18 to 63 years) of pulmonary tuberculosis from June 1991 to May 1993. Cutaneous tuberculosis was recorded in 0.2 percent patients. The commonest cutaneous (5.8 percent) were drug eruptions (maculopapular 3.6 percent acneiform 1.0 percent, pruitus 0.6 percent, urticaria 0.4 percent and vasculitis 0.2 percent), followed by fungal infections 3.5 percent, viral infections 1.9 percent, eczema/dermatitis 1.5 percent, scabies 1.2 percent, STD 0.8 percent, pyodermas 0.6 percent, HIV infection (PGL) 0.4 percent autoimmune disorders, reactions to mechanical trauma, leprosy and alopecia areata 0.3 percent each; nutritional disorders, clubbing of fingers and acne vulgaris 0.2 percent each; papulosqamous disorders, vitiligo, macular amyloidosis and hyperhidrosis were observed in 0.1 percent or less. 35.1 percent had far advances, 50.6 percent had moderately advanced and 14.3 percent had minimal pulmonary lesions on radiological examination in those having cutaneous lesions. Sputum for AFB was positive in more than half (52.6 percent).