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Byline: Amrita. Sil [INLINE:1] Authors : Indranil Saha, Bobby Paul 4th edition, March 2023 Pages : 444 Soft bound cover Publishers : Academic publishers Price : Rs. 595/- Essentials of [...]

Byline: Arunima. Dhabal, Nilay. Das, Amrita. Sil Sir, Symmetric drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) is an infrequently encountered dermatological adverse drug event occurring in susceptible persons after systemic administration [...]

Byline: Abhishek. De, Nidhi. Choudhary, Amrita. Sil, Aarti. Sarda, Abu. Hasanoor Raja Introduction: Vitiligo is a multifactorial disorder, most often explained by the autoimmune hypothesis. The objective of this study [...]

Byline: Amrita. Sil, Sufiur. Rahaman, Nasiruddin. Mondal, Sk. Ahmed, Dhiman. Tarafdar, Aparesh. Patra, Sudipta. Roy, Nilay. Das Introduction: Chronic urticaria is common and distressing dermatosis where the search for newer [...]

This article discusses the importance of registering an ethics committee before conducting biomedical research in India. The article explains that ethics committee approval is mandatory and that committees must be registered with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) or the Department of Health Research (DHR) depending on the type of research. The article provides detailed instructions on how to register an ethics committee on the DHR and CDSCO portals, including the necessary documents and steps. The registration remains valid for a certain period of time and must be renewed if there are any changes. Overall, registering the ethics committee ensures the quality and ethical supervision of clinical trials and biomedical research. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Filaggrin (FLG) gene encoding the protein filaggrin plays an important role in barrier function of the skin and its alteration is a predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis. FLG gene variants result in absent or decreased filaggrin protein. Worldwide, the prevalence of FLG variants ranges from 14 to 56%. FLG null variants are distinct in each population. Objectives: To study the FLG gene polymorphisms in Indian children and attempt a genotype-phenotype correlation in atopic dermatitis. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multicentre study conducted on 75 Indian children. Demographic details, clinical features and identified FLG null variants were recorded. We performed a whole gene sequencing of the entire FLG coding region using next-generation sequencing technology. Results: The prevalence of FLG null variants was 34.7%. A total of 20 different FLG loss of function variants in 26 children were documented. Sixteen (80%) variants were novel and four (20%) were previously reported in Asian and European populations. We found a statistically significant association between FLG variants with early age of onset of atopic dermatitis (P = 0.016) and elevated serum IgE levels (P = 0.051). There was no significant difference between atopic dermatitis phenotypes in children having one variant as compared to children harbouring two or more null variants. Limitations: Small sample size. Conclusion: Our study reports a unique set of FLG variants different from Asian and European populations, with these variants being significantly associated with an early age of onset of atopic dermatitis and elevated serum IgE levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Amrita. Sil, Sayantan. Dasgupta, Somodyuti. Chandra, Adrija. Datta, Arini. Banerjee, Nilay. Das Background: Immunotherapy for wart employs ability of immune system to recognize certain viral, bacterial, and fungal antigens [...]

Byline: Adrija. Datta, Indrashis. Podder, Anupam. Das, Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das Post-kala-azar dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) is one of the important neglected tropical diseases, which has a tremendous epidemiological significance, being [...]

Byline: Adrija. Datta, Somodyuti. Chandra, Abanti. Saha, Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das Background: Autologous serum therapy aims to supplement the existing pharmacotherapy in chronic urticaria by decreasing the antihistamine pill-burden and [...]

Background: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic has been immense. An innocent casualty of this disaster is medical education and training. Dermatology, which primarily deals with out-patient services, medical and surgical interventions, and in-patient services, was one of the worst hit. The National Medical Commission of India has implemented competency-based medical education (CBME) in Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy since 2019. The new curriculum relies on acquiring practical and procedural skills, training skills in research methodology, professionalism, attitude, and communication. Objectives: The study was undertaken to understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on postgraduate dermatology CBME training in India. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was carried out on postgraduate dermatology teachers and residents in India after obtaining ethics committee approval. An online semi-structured English questionnaire was administered by Google Forms. The calculated sample size was 366 dermatology faculty and 341 postgraduate students. Validity (Content validity ratio (CVR) ≥0.56) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.7249) of the questionnaire were determined. Results: Among the 764 responses received, 51.4% reported that their institutes were converted to exclusive COVID hospitals. Domains of dermatology education affected were procedural training (n = 655), bedside clinical teaching (n = 613), outpatient department-based clinical teaching (n = 487), bedside laboratory procedures (n = 463), research activities (n = 453), histopathology (n = 412), and theory classes (n = 302). To keep up with the teaching-learning process, online platforms were mostly utilized: Zoom Meeting (n = 379), Google Meet (n = 287), and WhatsApp Interaction (n = 224). Teaching during ward rounds was significantly more affected in exclusively COVID institutes than non-exclusive COVID institutes (P < 0.001). Psychomotor skill development suffered a major jolt with 26.7% of respondents reporting a standstill (P < 0.001). Communication skills among students suffered due to social distancing, mask, and poor attendance of patients. According to 23.84% of respondents, formative assessment was discontinued. Conclusion: Online seminars, journal clubs, and assessments have been incorporated during the pandemic. Online modalities should be used as a supplementary method as psychomotor skills, communication skills, research work, and bedside clinics may not be replaced by the e-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das, Dwijendra. Gangopadhyay The COVID-19 public health emergency has impacted not only the life of the people worldwide but also biomedical and health research in unprecedented [...]

Byline: Supratim. Saha, Aparesh. Patra, Srinivas. Gowda, Nasiruddin. Mondal, Sufiur. Rahaman, S.. Ahmed, Sujit. Debbarma, Khune. Vitthal, Somenath. Sarkar, Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das Background: Trophic ulcers secondary to leprosy pose [...]

Byline: Nirmalya. Das, Abhishek. De, Biswanath. Naskar, Amrita. Sil, Sudip. Das, Aarti. Sarda, Gobinda. Chatterjee Background: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae affecting the skin, peripheral [...]

Introduction: As Oral Lichenplanus (OLP) is considered a T cell mediated disease associated with a Th1 imbalance of cytokine production, most of the therapeutic interventions have aimed to target the inflammatory pathway underlying OLP. The most commonly used anti-inflammatory medication is corticosteroids. Although, the JAK-STAT pathway inhibitor drug Tofacitinib has been postulated to be useful in the management of Lichen Planus. Aim: To assess the Lichen Planus Activity and Damage Index (LiPADI) and to assess the quality of life of the patients through Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP 14) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Materials and Methods: This was an institution based, investigatorblind randomized controlled trial conducted after obtaining clearance from ethics committee and registering in the clinical trial registry (CTRI/2023/07/055368). Patients were screened into either Group A (Receiving oral prednisolone 0.5 mg/kg/day) or Group B (Receiving Tofacitinib 5 mg twice/day) with allocation ratio 1:1 as per the randomization sequence. Participants from both the groups had their oral and dermal health related quality of life evaluated using a questionnaire. (OHIP-14 questionnaire and DLQI). Physician blinding was achieved by Sequentially Numbered Opaque Sealed Envelope (SNOSE) technique. Informed consents, blood, Lipid and Urea profile, Chest x rays were obtained. Follow up visits were conducted in 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks and their effectiveness parameters, side effects, severity index of the disease, quality of life were monitored. Results: Both the groups were comparable at baseline with regards to number of lesions and its severity. Oral and Dermal lesions improved significantly from 1st follow-up (2nd week) onward in both the groups. OHIP-14 and DLQI was also noted to be improved at 12th week in both the groups. Conclusion: Tofacitinib significantly improves the cure rate in Lichen Planus with lesser number of side effects as compared to Prednisolone. Though 6 weeks of treatment is not sufficient to achieve complete cure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Somodyuti. Chandra, Karan. Sancheti, Indrashis. Podder, Anupam. Das, Tushar. Sarkar, Moitreyee. Chowdhury, Amrita. Sil, Susmita. Bhattacharya, Nilay. Das Background: It is a challenge to treat onychomycosis due to frequent [...]

Byline: Somodyuti. Chandra, Amrita. Sil, Adrija. Datta, Santasmita. Pal, Nilay. Das Background: Present day therapeutic modalities for viral warts are mostly ablative in nature, limited by high recurrence rates and [...]

Byline: Anirban. Das, Amrita. Sil, Tushar. Sarkar, Arpita. Sen, Sriparna. Chakravorty, Manideepa. Sengupta, Anupam. Das, Somodyuti. Chandra, Santasmita. Pal, Debabrata. Bandyopadhyay, Nilay. Das Background: Dermatophytosis is becoming increasingly unresponsive to [...]

Byline: Arindam. Sett, Samiksha. Pradhan, Karan. Sancheti, Dibyendu. Basu, Adrija. Datta, Lekha. Biswas, Sayan. Das, Subhasis. Pal, Nidhi. Gupta, Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das Background: Acanthosis nigricans has been associated with [...]

Byline: Abu. Reja, Abhishek. De, Pradip. Patra, Supratik. Biswas, Umesh. Duttagupta, Amrita. Sil, Nibir. Biswas, Surajita. Bannerjee, Aarti. Sarda, Basudev. Bhattacharya Introduction: Mycobacterium leprae has a small genome and a [...]

Byline: Amrita. Sil, Nilay. Das Sir, We thank you for your critical appraisal of our study 'Effectiveness and safety of levocetirizine 10 mg versus a combination of levocetirizine 5 mg [...]

Byline: Abhishek. De, Abu. Hasanoor Reja, Ishad. Aggarwal, Sumit. Sen, Amrita. Sil, Basudev. Bhattacharya, Nidhi. Sharma, Asad. Ansari, Aarti. Sarda, Gobinda. Chatterjee, Sudip. Das Background: Pure neural leprosy (PNL) still [...]

Introduction: Pyogenic granulomas are benign vascular lesions of the skin and mucosa which are often a source of concern because of their recurrent bleeding even with minimal trauma. Current treatment for pyogenic granuloma is ablative; no medical therapy is standardized to date. Timolol, due to its vasoconstrictive effect, vascular growth factor inhibition and apoptosis promotion properties, is a potential therapeutic option. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness and safety of topical timolol in the treatment of pyogenic granulomas. Methods: A two-centre, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial (Registration CTRI/2019/04/018581) was conducted. Patients of either sex were recruited with pyogenic granuloma lesions of less than eight weeks duration. Topical treatment with 0.5% timolol or matching glycerin placebo was continued for six weeks. Changes in color, size, bleeding tendency, physicians’ and patients’ global assessments and adverse events were assessed. Results: Forty subjects were randomized between the two groups which were comparable in age, sex, duration of illness and baseline lesion size. Significant improvement was noted with timolol, with color change from first follow-up onwards and lesion size reduction from second follow-up onward. Patients’ assessment of bleeding tendency also showed imrovement from the second visit onward. Between-group comparison showed significant difference with respect to percentage reduction in size (timolol 40.9%, placebo 3.4%; P = 0.002). Rescue treatment (electrosurgery) was required in five patients on placebo and in one in the timolol group (P = 0.182). Complete resolution occurred in 2 (10%) patients with timolol and in no patients on placebo (P = 0.231). Limitations: We observed effects of treatment for only six weeks. Conclusion: Topical timolol may be a treatment option for early pyogenic granulomas but complete resolution is unlikely in six weeks. Studies of longer duration are required to assess resolution and recurrence rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Tushar. Sarkar, Amrita. Sil, Santasmita. Pal, Chinmoy. Ghosh, Nilay. Das Background: Chronic urticaria is a vexing problem for patients and treating physicians alike. The EAACI/GA[sup][2]LEN/EDF/WAO guidelines advocate an increased [...]

Byline: Nilay. Das, Amrita. Sil Ethics are the moral values of human behavior and the principles which govern these values. The situation becomes challenging for a doctor when he assumes [...]

Byline: Indrashis. Podder, Sabari. Bhattacharya, Vivek. Mishra, Tushar. Sarkar, Somodyuti. Chandra, Amrita. Sil, Santasmita. Pal, Dhiraj. Kumar, Abanti. Saha, Koushik. Shome, Debabrata. Bandyopadhyay, Nilay. Das Background: Current therapeutic modalities for [...]

Byline: Swosti. Mohanty, Anupam. Das, Anupama. Ghosh, Amrita. Sil, Ramesh. Gharami, Debabrata. Bandyopadhyay, Nilay. Das Background: Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens–Johnson syndrome comprise life-threatening, drug-induced mucocutaneous disease spectrum. Interest in [...]

Byline: Girish. Badarkhe, Amrita. Sil, Sabari. Bhattacharya, Uttam. Nath, Nilay. Das Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, self-limited, Type IV hypersensitivity reactions associated with infections and drugs. In this case [...]

Byline: Niharika. Lal, Amrita. Sil, Tirthankar. Gayen, Debabrata. Bandyopadhyay, Nilay. Das Background: In spite of the availability of multiple treatment options, viral warts are known for their persistence and recurrence, [...]

Well‑designed and rigorously conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT) can produce most valid and precise scientific evidence. Any intervention, be it systemic or topical medicine, dermatology procedure needs to be tested for its efficacy in improving particular disease condition and RCT should come into mind of investigator. The biggest strength of RCT lies in two self‑explanatory factors; they are randomized and controlled. Randomization of study subjects eliminates selection and confounding bias and controlling of study condition improves the internal and external validity of findings. “Blinding” eliminates assessment bias. If one starts a comparative study without stating proper hypothesis, he/she would end up collecting lots of data which does not make sense. PICOT format helps in formulating research question. Writing a detailed protocol based on hypothesis describing in detail methodology, sample size calculation, randomization method, and blinding procedure up to statistical analysis plan is very important step in planning of RCT. Trials registered prospectively contribute to transparency of the trial and are considered to reduce the publication bias by reducing selective publication of positive outcomes. Adverse events can occur at any time during conduct of an RCT and should be reported and kept track of. Physical injury resulting from clinical trial participation is entitled to financial compensation. During preparation of final manuscript of study, the CONSORT guidelines must be followed to improve the quality of reporting of RCTs. Clinical trials provide evidence‑based approach in medicine and a designed and well‑implemented trial can alter clinical dermatology practice for a healthier tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]