“The atopics actually have a miserable life mostly because they’re driven mad by itch,” Dr. Papp says. “If you think about it, one mosquito bite is a nuisance, 100 mosquito bites is more than annoying, and now you look at 1,000 mosquito bites and not just for a few days. You’re looking at weeks, months, maybe years on end.”
Patients are often sleep-deprived which can lead to altered mood over time, making them more susceptible to anxiety and depression.
“One of the big advantages of JAK inhibitors in topical creams specifically is that they turn off that itch remarkably fast, within hours. It’s incredible. Patients will say, ‘this is amazing. This is fantastic. I don’t itch anymore,” Dr. Papp adds.
He says JAK inhibitors have proven effectiveness for a broad array of inflammatory conditions, and what’s revolutionary for dermatologists is having a topical treatment. “This potentially expands the repertoire of conditions and skin diseases that we can treat, some of which may be steroid responses, some of which are somewhat steroid resistant but may respond to the use of the topical JAKs because of the pathways that are involved.”
Papp had a number of patients in both the vitiligo and atopic dermatitis studies that are structured with an active group on the cream and a placebo group to compare both the effectiveness and safety.