In this year-end episode of Topical Conversations, Dr Peter Lio provides an insightful overview of the evolving landscape of atopic dermatitis (AD) treatments and trends to watch in 2025. With advancements in AD care beginning to close the gap with psoriasis, Dr Lio shares practical recommendations to help dermatologists prioritize areas for education and optimize patient care.
Advancements in atopic dermatitis treatments: catching up with psoriasis
Dr Lio notes that AD care is undergoing a significant evolution, with a wave of new treatment options raising the bar for patient outcomes. He explains how the expanding therapeutic toolbox challenges dermatologists to reevaluate whether current treatments are meeting patients' needs—and whether there’s room to do better.
The rise of nonsteroidal topicals
For decades, corticosteroids were the cornerstone of topical AD therapy. However, the introduction of nonsteroidal options has shifted the paradigm:
Biologics and systemic advances
Dr Lio also reviews biologic therapies that are revolutionizing moderate-to-severe AD treatment, offering targeted solutions:
What 2025 holds for atopic dermatitis
Dr Lio remarks that with a robust and diverse treatment toolbox, dermatologists are better equipped than ever to manage AD. This new era calls for:
Dr Lio emphasizes that the wealth of new options allows dermatologists to offer renewed hope to patients who previously felt they had exhausted their choices. By leveraging this expanded toolbox, dermatologists can provide more effective, tailored care in 2025 and beyond, potentially helping patients achieve better outcomes and sustained symptom control.
In this 45-minute symposium, expert faculty cover the latest updates for JAK inhibitors, including head-to-head efficacy and safety data for JAK inhibitors and biologics, and share clinical pearls for using JAK inhibitors in dermatology practice for atopic dermatitis."I can say that in my clinic, I am reaching for those high bars. You have toput yourself in the position of the patient or imagine that patient is your family member. Would you want mediocre treatment for them or average treatment or moderate treatment? You’d want them to get the best possible treatment. In my practice I’m now counseling patients 'yes we want clear skin. Yes, we want minimal itch. Yes we want your skin pain gone and for you to sleep better.'”- David Cotter, MD, PhDFC25: Charting the Course to Higher Targets With JAK Inhibition in Atopic Dermatitis: An Online ActivityThis activity is supported by an educational grant from AbbVie.
Don’t miss this Satellite Symposium from the 2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference®, as Dr. Alexandra Golant, Dr. Mona Shahriari, and Dr. G. Michael Lewitt discuss IL-13 targeting biologics in the treatment of atopic dermatitis as well as strategies for optimizing their use.“To me, coming into an exam room in 2025, when we have so many different treatment options for these patients, it's a unique opportunity to use what we know about the data of these therapeutics and walk patients though their options and how to understand their disease state, and how to best choose the therapy that feels right for them.” – Alexandra Golant, MD FC25: Illuminate the Role of IL-13 Inhibitors for the Management of Atopic DermatitisThis activity is supported by an educational grant from Lilly.
“Of course we’re always starting with our basics: we’re using our gentle cleansers, our moisturization, our avoidance of known allergens or triggers, and then we're doing our topicals. But it can be very difficult if you have heavy stuff on your face or you’re required to put it on over and over. It can be really tough. So this paves the way really nicely to say it is time to move up, it is time to think about the next level, and typically the next step up is going to be a biologic agent.” - Peter Lio, MDA ‘HowTo’ activity delivers a short burst of engaging and compact content for learners to study at their own convenience. This microlearning activity is intended to provide practical insights from two experts on ‘HowTo’ improve care in head and neck atopic dermatitis in 10 minutes.This activity is supported by an educational grant from LEO Pharma.
This 30-minute symposium from the 2025 Pediatrics360 Virtual Conference takes a closer look at biologic therapies that can address the immune pathophysiology, associated comorbidities, and progression of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in pediatric patients.“A lot of them (children with atopic dermatitis) do have tactile sensitivities and don’t like the way any creams, ointments, anything, feel on their skin. Thinking about a shot, even though it hurts, doing a shot once or twice a month can actually often be so much easier than having the parents have to argue with the kid two to three times a day to get the topicals on. So, I actually think of injections very quickly for patients with tactile sensitivities.” – Dr. Elizabeth SwansonPEDS25: Controlling the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Managing Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis with Biologic Therapies: An Online ActivityThis activity is supported by an educational grant from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.