Progress Being Made in the Dermatology Field

The annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting took place in DC in March and I was thrilled to serve as faculty along at the Live Injection Course. My colleagues – leaders from around the country- and I demonstrated injection of fillers and toxin to a packed audience. This came right after our office hosted the International Peel Society workshop in which visiting dermatologists learned state-of-the-art peel techniques. Best part of all of this was how much I leaned from my colleagues!

The AAD meeting is the largest assemblage of dermatologists anywhere and it was full of cutting-edge research from around the world.

What We Learned

In the war on melanoma, continued progress in melanoma immunotherapy has vastly improved survival rates. Future melanoma treatment may consist of personalized therapy in which a vaccine is created based on the specific antigens most expressed on an individual patient’s tumor. In this way the patient’s immune system is encouraged to recognize and attack his or her own melanoma cells.

We also learned a lot about a new class of medications called “JAK” (Janus Kinase) inhibitors. These agents are game changers for alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo and psoriasis. These are systemic medications, taken by mouth, but even the topical cream version has been shown to be effective in children with alopecia areata.

And for melasma, the difficult to treat darkening of the skin, there was encouraging news. Tranexamic acid in pill and topical form along with a new agent reduce the pigment that is so resistant to treatment.

Progress is being made on nearly every front in our field!