For atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory disease that is accompanied by redness, itching and flaking, “the drugs we have available – the so-called Jak inhibitors – are very effective but it is not advisable to suspend them. Due to the characteristics of the pathology, the therapy must be maintained. Generally the patient has a good response, does not present phenomena of intolerance or side effects, for this reason it is advisable to continue the treatment since the dermatitis could in fact recur. It is a disease supported by complex inflammatory phenomena. These drugs are able to block them, but it is not possible at the moment to think of suspending them or avoiding relapse”. Thus the dermatologist Vito Di Lernia, head of the Simple Structure of Immunological Dermatology ASL Reggio Emilia with Adnkronos Salute takes stock of the disease that affects “about 5-7% of the adult population and even 20% of the pediatric population”. A disabling condition for those affected “due to the intense itching§”. Children, like adults, “cannot sleep at night, they struggle to concentrate during the day – explains Di Lernia – So it is a disease that has a strong impact on the quality of life. It must be said that children can recover much more than adults but, being a chronic disease, it is destined to persist throughout life”. (VIDEO)
Genes, family history, altered skin barrier and water imbalance: these are the elements that can lead to the development of atopic dermatitis, the diagnosis of which “despite the progress in the field of biomarkers, blood tests, immunological and imaging tests, is the responsibility of the dermatologist with clinical observation”.
Among the available therapies that allow you to manage this pathology, “in addition to monoclonal antibodies – the specialist emphasizes – which have the function of blocking a single cytokine” (a small protein molecule) we have the so-called Jak-inhibitor drugs that intercept these enzymes that block the cytokine signal, so that the cytokines remain in circulation but can no longer carry out their harmful action on the epidermal tissue. And so you return to a normal life, let’s say, without the problems of itching, redness and discomfort”. These therapies “are able, very often, to determine a complete remission, or almost, of all the symptoms. There are drugs that act a little more slowly and drugs such as, precisely, Jak-inhibitors, which are often able to act within a few weeks, immediately eliminating the itching. And then, in the following days, also the inflammatory manifestations, the lesions. In this way, patients return to having normal skin, and without itching they can finally rest and return to living after months or years”. However, “the therapy must be maintained – concludes Di Lernia – because otherwise the dermatitis could recur with a relapse”.
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