Peter Lio, MD: Delving Into Disease Progression in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis

Peter Lio, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

At the 2024 Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lio presented a sponsored (Sanofi and Regeneron), non-CME session alongside Amy Paller, MD, Northwestern University, titled, "Can Disease Course Be Changed in Patients with Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis?"

Lio spoke with Dermatology Times to discuss the highlights of his talk, the role of disease progression in pediatric atopic dermatitis, and the exciting pipeline ahead.

"While we finally, after a long drought, we finally have some treatments, we still need more, and there are patients for whom they're not a good fit or they have an issue," Lio said.

Transcript

Peter Lio, MD: Hi, I'm Peter Lio. I'm a clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Dermatology Times: What are key highlights from your non-CME talk on pediatric atopic dermatitis?

Lio: This was a really interesting exploration of the ability for treatment to actually change the disease progression for atopic dermatitis. We looked at some of the different studies that show aggressive topical therapy can help change the progression of atopic derm, but even more interestingly, perhaps, that it can also affect the risk of comorbidities, so not just the skin disease, but also, in particular, food allergy. And then with sort of the idea that maybe some of the other parts of this atopic march, or these comorbidities that we often see running alongside the skin. The idea here, I think, is that, or at least one explanatory model, is that when the skin barrier is damaged, we can become sensitized to proteins and allergens in the environment. If we heal the barrier, we potentially can avoid some of that, and it's pretty exciting to see where this might lead.

Dermatology Times: What is new or upcoming in pediatric dermatology that most excites you?

Lio: One of the big ones is that we have 2 new non-steroidal topical medicines, one of which actually, very recently, just got its approval down to 6 years of age for atopic dermatitis, and it's a once daily phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor. The other one, I think, will hopefully be not far behind, and it is a topical aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulator, and that one is coming soon. It's already approved for psoriasis, but I think we'll have its atopic dermatitis approval, and this is important because so many of our patients really need good, non-steroidal options, and I think this will allow us to really take better care of our patients and get and maintain that control that we've been seeking.

Lio: There's also a pipeline of some new systemic agents, and in particular, some biologic agents coming that, I think again, will continue to trickle down to pediatrics. They often start in the adults with that indication, but then before long, they often make their way down to at least our adolescents and sometimes younger. That's great, because while we finally, after a long drought, we finally have some treatments, we still need more, and there are patients for whom they're not a good fit or they have an issue. I'm excited to see this pipeline, and even though it's going to take a little longer to get to the peds, I think we really can see that there's new ideas coming.

[Transcript has been edited for clarity.]

Note: Dr Lio's talk was sponsored by Sanofi and Regeneron and was considered a non-CME session.