The invention relates to an oral composition for alleviating digestive manifestations in patients afflicted with cystic fibrosis, which comprises a therapeutic amount of taurine in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, and to a method of alleviating digestive manifestations in patients afflicted with cystic fibrosis by the administration of said oral composition.

Polyolefinic compounds represented by the general formula ##STR1## in which R and R.sub.1 are each hydrogen or an alkyl group of from 1 to 5 carbon atoms; R.sub.2 is an alkyl group of from 1 to 5 carbon atoms; R.sub.3 is hydroxyl, alkoxy of from 1 to 5 carbon atoms, NH.sub.2, NHR.sub.2 or NR.sub.2 R.sub.2 and Z is a cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl or cycloalkdienyl group substituted with from 0 to 5 alkyl groups, a keto group or a hydroxyl group or a phenyl group substituted with from 0 to 4 hydroxy, alkoxy, alkyl or trifluoromethyl groups or halogen atoms or combinations thereof and the pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof. The foregoing compounds have been found to be effective in the treatment of psoriasis, inflammatory conditions and allergic responses.

Nodulocystic and conglobate acne in humans can be alleviated by the oral administration of 13-cis-retinoic acid or a derivative thereof. The active ingredient is administered in a dosage of from about 1.5 to about 3 mg/kg of body weight per day for a period of from about two to about four weeks.

This invention relates generally to an improved medication and treatment serving to darken the color of some hair adjacent to the skin to which the materials of the treatment are applied. The treatment consists of application of topical tretinoin to the skin of a person combined with the application of a lotion containing ammonium lactate to the same skin area. When the treatment is continued on a basis of once or twice per day, the skin of the user assumes a uniform light brown color similar to the countenance of a suntanned appearance within a period of a few weeks, and some hair adjacent to the skin to which the materials of the treatment are applied is darkened.