Publications by authors named "R T Woolf"
Atopic eczema (eczema; also known as atopic dermatitis) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. The burden of eczema can be very substantial with significant itch, skin pain, secondary infection, sleep disturbance and psychological distress. Eczema is common in pregnancy.
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- Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent skin condition that can occur in individuals of any age, and while dupilumab shows promising efficacy as a monoclonal antibody therapy, its use has been linked to a higher occurrence of ocular side effects.
- The British Association of Dermatologists and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists developed guidance on how to manage these dupilumab-related ocular surface disorders (DROSD) after forming a multidisciplinary group to review literature and recommendations.
- Key recommendations include that treatment with dupilumab should not be delayed for most eye issues, hydration drops are not advised as preventive measures, and specific guidance is provided for managing DROSD in both children under 7 and those older, with a focus on
Article Synopsis
- The study compares the real-world effectiveness and safety of three treatments for atopic dermatitis: dupilumab, ciclosporin (CyA), and methotrexate (MTX), using data from the A-STAR register in the UK and Ireland.
- It involved 488 patients (adults and children) and measured treatment outcomes like the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and quality of life scales over 12 months.
- Results showed that dupilumab and CyA led to faster improvements in skin severity scores and overall patient outcomes compared to MTX, indicating dupilumab is an effective option in managing atopic dermatitis.
Checkpoint inhibition (CPI), particularly that targeting the inhibitory coreceptor programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), has transformed oncology. Although CPI can derepress cancer (neo)antigen-specific αβ T cells that ordinarily show PD-1-dependent exhaustion, it can also be efficacious against cancers evading αβ T cell recognition. In such settings, γδ T cells have been implicated, but the functional relevance of PD-1 expression by these cells is unclear.
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