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During the past four years (1959-1963) 27 adolescent girls have been observed and treated for atopic dermatitis. This paper is concerned with these adolescent patients, and particular interest has been directed toward the relationship of the skin lesions to various changes in the menstrual cycle. Eczema was first described by Besnier1in 1892 and the term atopic dermatitis was coined by Coca and Sulzberger2,3in 1934. Despite the vast amount of literature concerning atopic dermatitis since that time, relatively little has been written about the natural course of atopic dermatitis during adolescence.4-7Most typically, atopic dermatitis or eczema is a highly pruritic, sometimes exudative, cutaneous syndrome usually beginning in early life. It is frequently the first manifestation of a constitutional abnormality intermittently associated with the development of allergic rhinitis and/or asthma.5It may be divided into three important phases representing different morphologic features clinically: Phase 1

Mental retardation produces untold disability with resultant economic uselessness and human misery. With the possible exception of mental illness, mental retardation is the most significant handicap of our society. Of the approximately 4,200,000 children born annually in the United States, 3%, or 126,000, will never achieve the intellect of a 12-year-old child; 0.3%, or 12,600, will remain below the 7-year intellectual level, and 0.1%, or 4,200, will spend their lives as completely helpless individuals with intellectual development in the imbecile range and will be unable to care for their own basic needs.7 The problem of mental retardation has always been with us, but several factors have recently served to magnify the problem. One of these is the increase in the complexity of our society; another is society's increasing demands for educational achievement and technical competence. This has altered the significance of mental retardation, so that persons who would previously