Hon KLE, Chan VPY, Leung AKC. Experimental Drugs with the Potential to Treat Atopic Eczema.
J Exp Pharmacol 2021;
13:487-498. [PMID:
34012301 PMCID:
PMC8126870 DOI:
10.2147/jep.s259299]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing dermatosis characterized by pruritus and a significant impact on the quality of life.
Methods
The authors undertook a structured search of peer-reviewed research articles from PubMed and Google Scholar. Recent and up-to-date studies relevant to the topic were included.
Results
This report overviews current treatment and experimental drug for AD. Topical agents including topical phosphodiesterase E4 (PDE4) inhibitors such as crisaborole are efficacious in the treatment of AD with few side effects. Monoclonal antibodies such as dupilumab given subcutaneously are efficacious for more severe disease. Systemic treatment can ameliorate symptoms in severe and recalcitrant AD. New systemic treatment includes several traditional herbal formulations that have undergone clinical trials using modern research methodology to determine their efficacy and safety. AD is associated with many complicating psychosocial issues. Often suboptimal efficacy is due to unrealistic expectations and poor compliance making treatment difficult in spite of effective treatment and efforts in drug discovery. Randomized trials have shown that novel topical and subcutaneous medications are safe and efficacious. Regarding herbs, a methodology for the investigation of herbal medications is often flawed and scientific evidence is lacking. Experimental drugs include various biologics, PDE4 and JAK inhibitors in topical, oral, subcutaneous or intravenous forms are in various phases of trials.
Conclusion
Many novel medications demonstrate efficacy for AD. Experimental drugs include various biologics, PDE4 and JAK inhibitors are in various phases of trials.
Collapse