A case of severe atopic dermatitis and concurrent severe hidradenitis suppurativa successfully treated with dupilumab

Biologics for Hidradenitis suppurativa: evolution of the treatment paradigm

INTRODUCTION

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an autoinflammatory skin disease with a high unmet need for effective medical management. Clinically, it is characterized by inflammatory nodules that may progress into abscesses, draining tunnels and extensive scarring, mainly affecting apocrine gland-bearing areas.

AREAS COVERED

Treatment options include topical and systemic medications and a variety of surgical procedures. The anti-TNF-α antibody adalimumab and the anti-IL-17 secukinumab are the only two approved biologics for HS, showing moderate efficacy. HS research is a rapidly growing field, with a wide range of agents leveraging distinct mechanisms of action currently under development. Drugs targeting the IL-17 and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways are the most advanced in both ongoing and completed Phase 3 studies, promising deeper levels of response. Use of other, off-label biologics is also discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

A therapeutic algorithm is proposed based on comorbidities and existing evidence. Patient-tailored combinations between biologics and other biologics or small molecules will hopefully allow clinicians to target most events in HS pathophysiology in a complementary way while obtaining a meaningful effect on their devastating manifestations.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Unique Molecular Signature with Broad Immune Activation

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with limited treatment options. The poorly understood pathogenesis hinders the development of effective treatments; therefore, a pressing need exists to further elucidate the molecular mechanisms in hidradenitis suppurativa. This study investigated the underlying inflammatory pathways and cell types in hidradenitis suppurativa using transcriptomic approaches with RNA sequencing of lesional and non-lesional skin biopsies from hidradenitis suppurativa, which was jointly analyzed with previously published transcriptomic data from atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients. The differential expression and pathway enrichment analyses demonstrated the activation of multiple inflammatory processes, including the innate and adaptive immune systems, implicated in the hidradenitis suppurativa pathogenesis. In agreement, hidradenitis suppurativa exhibited a unique and heterogeneous cell type signature involving lymphoid and myeloid cells such as B cells and macrophages. Furthermore, hidradenitis suppurativa displayed increased expression of TH1/2/17 signatures with no predominant TH signatures unlike psoriasis (TH1/17) and atopic dermatitis (TH2). In summary, our study provides molecular insights into the pathomechanisms in hidradenitis suppurativa, revealing a strong and widespread immune activation, which may benefit from treatment strategies offering a broad immunomodulation of various key inflammatory pathways. Our data not only corroborate previously reported findings but also enhance our understanding of the immune dysregulation in hidradenitis suppurativa, uncovering novel and potential therapeutic targets.

Emerging Treatments and the Clinical Trial Landscape for Hidradenitis Suppurativa Part I: Topical and Systemic Medical Therapies

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an oftentimes debilitating condition that presents with painful nodules, abscesses, and sinus tracts. This condition is challenging to treat, in part because the pathogenesis of the condition is incompletely understood but also because there are limited therapeutic options. HS research is undergoing explosive growth with multiple new molecular pathways under study, which will hopefully lead to improved disease control for patients. Part I of this review will provide an overview of the emerging topical and systemic therapies under investigation for HS.

Dupilumab in Inflammatory Skin Diseases: A Systematic Review

Dupilumab was first approved for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) and blocks the signaling of interleukin (IL)-4 and -13. Several other chronic skin conditions share mechanistic overlaps with AD in their pathophysiology, i.e., are linked to type 2 inflammation. Most recently, dupilumab was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prurigo nodularis (PN). Given its relatively good safety profile, effective off-label use of dupilumab has been reported for a multitude of dermatologic diseases and several clinical trials for dermatologic skin conditions are currently ongoing. We conducted a systematic review of applications of dupilumab in dermatology other than AD and PN by searching the databases PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library as well as the clinical trial registry ClinicalTrials.gov. We found several reports for effective treatment of bullous autoimmune diseases, eczema, prurigo, alopecia areata, chronic spontaneous urticaria, Netherton syndrome and a variety of other chronic inflammatory skin diseases.