Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring inflammatory disease of the hair follicle. Although it usually presents as asymptomatic localized hair loss, it is a disese of very broad spectrum. Alopecia universalis (AU) is an uncommon form of AA that involves the loss of all haed and body hair and is estimated to account approximately 5% of all alopecia cases [1]. The cause of disease is unknown, although there is evidence to suggest that the link between lymphocytic infiltration of the follicle and the disruption of the hair follicle cycle in AA may be provided by a combination of factors, including cytokine release, cytotoxic T-cell activity, and apoptosis [2,3]. It is also considered that a disequilibrium in the production of cytokines, with a relative excess of proinflammatory and Th1 types, vs. anti-inflammatory cytokines may be involved in the persistence of AA lesions, as shown in human scalp biopsies [4]. The immune response presented in AU is associated with aberrant lesional expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-1β, and overexpression of ICAM-1 and MHC molecules on hair follicle keratinocytes and dermal papilla cells [5].

Background: Nifuroxazide is well known and often used anti-diarrhoeal medicine which has been pushed back from routine practice in recent years and often replaced with probiotics. Even probiotics are accepted and placed in some therapeutic guidelines for diarrhoea treatment, there are no enough evidence for its effectiveness and no comparative efficacy data with nifuroxazide in treatment of acute diarrhea. Patients and Methods: In open, prospective observational study, the efficacy and safety of nifuroxazide were compared with a probiotic containing lactic acid bacteria in the treatment of acute diarrhoea. A total number of 169 adult patients were included in this study, who administered nifuroxazide in the dose of 200 mg/4 times a day, while they took preparation containing lactic acid bacteria (1,2 x 107 live lyophilised lactic-acid bacteria) three times a day for three days. Results: Mean time to last unformed stool (TLUS) in a group which was treated with nifuroxazide was two days, while it took five days for the stool normalisation in the group using probiotic (p=0.0001). Conclusions: Orally administered nifuroxazide has demonstrated better efficiency as compared to probiotic in treating acute diarrhoea, and both medicines have shown the same safety and tolerance in this study.

Introduction: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are threat to the patient’s safety and the quality of life, and they increase the cost of health care. Spontaneous ADR reporting system mainly relies on physicians, but also pharmacists, nurses, and even patients. The aim of this study was to explore attitudes, barriers, and possible improvements to ADR reporting practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was developed to collect data on the perception of pharmacovigilance practice and ADR reporting. The survey was conducted in the period between September, 2014 and October, 2014.Results: The response rate was 73% (44 of 60) and 93% (148 of 160) among the pharmacist and family medicine physician groups, respectively. Regarding the attitudes to pharmacovigilance practice and reporting, both the pharmacists and physicians found the practices important. The majority of pharmacists and physicians in year 2014 did not report any ADR, while 18% of the pharmacists and 12% of the physicians, who participated in this study, reported one ADR. Reporting procedure, uncertainty, and their exposure were the main barriers to reporting ADRs for the pharmacists. The physicians claimed lack of knowledge to whom to report an ADR as the main barrier. A significant number of the respondents thought that additional education in ADR reporting would have a positive impact, and would increase the ADR reporting rate.Conclusions: Despite the overall positive attitude towards ADR reporting, the reporting rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still low. Different barriers to the ADR reporting have been identified, and there is also the need for improvements in the traditional education in this field.

Thyroid disorders are known to involve all the organ systems of the body and the skin is no exception. Some dermatological skin findings and diseases may be the first symptoms of thyroid disease [1]. Available data suggest that thyroid hormone plays a pivotal role in embryonic development of mammalian skin as well as in maintenance of normal cutaneous function an adult skin. Thyroid hormone stimulates epidermal oxygen consumption, protein synthesis, mitosis, and determination of epidermal thickness [2]. Thyroid hormone is an important regulator of epidermal homeostasis. In tissue culture studies using surrogates for DNA expression, T 3 has been shown to stimulate growth of both epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblastes [3, 4]. In addition, thyroid hormone appears to be necessary for both the initiation and maintenance of hair growth and normal secretion of sebum.