Mona Shahriari, MD, Looks Ahead to the RAD Conference

Transcript (edited for clarity)

Mona Shahriari: Hi, I'm Mona Shahriari, assistant clinical professor at Yale and the associate director of clinical trials at CCD research, and I practice in Central Connecticut at Central Connecticut Dermatology in Cromwell. 2022 has really been an incredible year for atopic dermatitis; we've seen an explosion of medications that are FDA approved for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and we're also continuing to get a better understanding of this complex heterogenous disease and recognizing it as being more of a systemic disease with a systemic inflammatory condition. I'm very excited about the Revolutionising Atopic Dermatitis Conference because it always has a very well-thought-out agenda. Given all the updates that have happened this year, I think it puts us in a good position to try to understand these new therapies that have hit the space. When they do this one-day conference, everything that they have is high-yield but for starters, I'm very excited about the updates on atopic dermatitis. When leaders like Dr. Silverberg give their thoughts on the therapies and how best to utilize them for each patient, I always take away some learning pearl that I can apply to my own patients. I'm also really excited to hear about that segment on mental health and its impact on atopic dermatitis and how to set up our patients with mental health experts that can help them navigate that space, because I see a lot of patients with atopic dermatitis, and a lot patients are dealing with depression and anxiety as part of their skin disease. Sometimes when you get their skin disease to clear up quickly, because their whole life has been defined by their atopic dermatitis they can develop adjustment disorder. And in those sorts of instances, you really need a mental health professional to help them cope with this new normal for them, which in our eyes is a better place to be, but sometimes, from a mental health standpoint, it can be challenging for them. I also have to say I'm intrigued by the debate between Dr. Silverberg and Dr. Simpson. When a patient with atopic dermatitis is eligible for systemic treatment, both of them have such unique approaches to patient care. To see them battle it out will not only be educational, but also entertaining, I'm sure!