Brief of American Academy of Dermatology Virtual Meeting Experience 2021-

• Lebwohl, Dean for Clinical Therapeutics and Chairman emeritus at the Kimberly, has recommended more biologics for pediatric patients with psoriasis. One is the anti-IL-36 drugs, which inhibit a pathway that has been identified as playing a major role in pustular psoriasis.
• Darrell S. Rigel, clinical professor of dermatology at the New York Grossman School of Medicine in New York, has emphasized on development of Digital devices and genomics to provide access to more precise data to direct skin cancer diagnosis and treatment management. This new electric impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method measures the overall resistance in tissue at alternating currencies of various frequencies. It is superior in terms of improved accuracy and a significant reduction in the number of benign biopsies. He also recommends genomics over the standard of care for prognosis, diagnosis and sentinel lymph node biopsy, especially in light of studies exploring 40-gene expression testing.
• Erin E. Boh, Joseph Chastain professor and chair of dermatology at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana recommends a close watch on JAK inhibitors, combination therapies and drug holidays for treatment of atopic dermatitis. She confirms ongoing clinical trials of both oral and topical JAK inhibitors for atopic dermatitis, including some that target all of pathways 1, 2, and 3, and others that focus on specific combinations of those pathways. 
• Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD clinical professor in the department of dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and founder of Innovative Dermatology in Dallas, talked about FDA-approval awaited drugs like tranexamic acid in treating melasma and hyperpigmentation. As it is a synthetic analogue of the amino acid lysine, it competitively inhibits the transformation of plasminogen to plasma, a molecule that degrades fibrin. Tranexamic acid blocks the production of inflammatory mediators like prostaglandins and arachidonic acid via multiple steps. While prostaglandins and arachidonic acid stimulate tyrosyl activity to make more melanin. He also mentioned some contraindications to oral tranexamic acid use in patients who are pregnant, nursing or breastfeeding, while it can be used in young healthy male and female patients for recalcitrant disease. 

Reference-Scoviak M. Game Changers in Dermatology, Dermatology Times, 2021;42(5).