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The article presents a novel treatment for deep heel fissures by application of trichloroacetic acid. The full treatment method is presented including the recommended concentration of trichloroacetic acid as well as follow-up care.

The article offers information on nicotinamide, also known as Vitamin B3, the pyridine 3 carboxylic acid amide form of niacin. It discusses nicotinamide's metabolism, biological effects, uses in dermatological disorders, role in atopic dermatitis and in autoimmune skin disorders, antiageing effect, anticarcinogenic and photoprotective effect, and so on.

The article presents abstracts on medical topics, which include the treatment options for psoriasis in HIV-infected patients, the recurrences of toenail onychomycosis, and the cancer risk to psoriasis or eczema patients after coal tar treatment.

Background: Minimal erythemal dose (MED) for narrow band-ultraviolet B radiation (NB-UVB) varies with race and skin type. The aim was to estimate the MED for NB-UVB and compare visual readings with those from a Dermaspectrometer in a north Indian patients as the available data is sparse.Methods: Forty one patients who visited the dermatology outpatient department were recruited for this study. Skin type was grouped as per Fitzpatrick skin type scale. Patients' upper backs were irradiated after applying a novel template with 8 windows of 2 x 2 cm each, with a test dose ladder of 250-1500 mJ/cm2 in a Waldmann (700K) TL-01 chamber. MED and erythema index were read after 24 hours, the latter by using Dermaspectrometer.Results: Forty one patients (10 males, 31 females) with mean age of 30.5 (14-65) years were recruited. 23 patients were of skin type 5, 17 of type 4 and one of skin type 3. The estimated MEDs were 1000 mJ/cm2 in 17, 750 mJ/cm2 in 19, 1100 mJ/cm2 in four and 500 mJ/cm2 in one patient. The median and mode MED was 1000 mJ/cm2. There was an exponential rise in the erythema index with increase in irradiation (17.18-26.25/250-1500 mJ/cm2). Student's t-test applied to detect differences between the visual and Dermaspectrometer readings was found to be statistically not significant.Conclusion: The estimated MED for NB-UVB varied from 500 to 1100 mJ/cm2, the median MED being 1000 mJ/cm2. The darker skin types did not have low MED while some patients with lighter skin type displayed lower MED. There was no significant difference in MED determined by visual and Dermaspectrometer readings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented focusing on adenocarcinoma of the gall bladder presenting with a cutaneous metastasis.

The article reports on a case of 50-year-old man diagnosed with extradigital glomus tumor. The man has a history of a painful area on his left knee with transient pain and precipitates touch and light contact. It was observed to have reddish erythematous macule on the lower part of the left knee. It is important of keeping clinical suspicion for the diagnosis of glomus tumor.

A response by Trilokraj Tejasvi, Vinod K. Sharma and Jasleen Kaur to a letter to the editor about their article "Determination of minimal erythemal dose for narrow bandultraviolet B radiation in north Indian patients: Comparison of visual and Dermaspectrometer® readings" in the previous issue is presented.