Emerging Evidence in Atopic Dermatitis Management, With Harrison Nguyen, MD, MBA, MPH

Harrison Nguyen, MD, MBA, MPH, founder of Harrison Dermatology & Research Group in Houston, Texas, spoke with HCPLive about the inccreasing complexity, and level of opportunity, within the atopic dermatitis treatment space, following his session titled “Medical Crossfire” at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) Conference 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.1

Speaking with the editorial team, Nguyen described the modern era of treatment as a “golden revolution” in atopic dermatitis care. He hoted clinicians can now access an increasing array of topical and systemic medications, though 1 of the central questions facing providers is finding out which treatment is best for which patient. Increasingly, decisions related to medications are being guided not only by disease severity but also by underlying immunologic mechanisms, comorbidities, and individual patient characteristics, he noted.

“[For] each therapy, we're understanding more and more about their biologic behavior, how they behave in certain manifestations of atopic dermatitis, and of course, which patient would benefit the most based on those characteristics,” Nguyen expressed.

In his session, he presented the case of an adolescent patient with atopic dermatitis and a strong family history of atopic disease. The patient’s family history included asthma, food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and chronic spontaneous urticaria—conditions linked through shared type 2 inflammatory pathways. According to Nguyen, such cases underscore the importance of evaluating atopic dermatitis within the broader context of systemic inflammatory disease rather than viewing it solely as a cutaneous condition.

During the debate-style session, Nguyen argued in favor of dupilumab as the preferred systemic therapy for this particular patient. He explained that the biologic’s dual inhibition of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 may offer advantages for patients with significant type 2 inflammatory burden. While IL-13 plays an important role in atopic dermatitis pathogenesis, Nguyen pointed to IL-4 as being involved in many immune processes, including antibody class switching and Th2-mediated inflammation, making it a critical therapeutic target.

Outside of disease control, Nguyen noted emerging data suggesting potential implications of the targeted treatment of atopic dermatitis for the broader atopic disease spectrum. He noted growing interest in whether treatments such as dupilumab could impact the development or progression of related conditions, including asthma and allergic rhinitis, particularly among patients at elevated risk.

Nguyen’s session reflected the growing level of personalization of atopic dermatitis management, with drug selection becoming more closely tied to a patient’s immunologic profile, family history, and risk for associated type 2 inflammatory conditions.

Nguyen had no relevant financial disclosures of note.

References

1. Nguyen H, Bunick C, Cotter D, Shahriari M. Medical Crossfire and Clinical Case Challenge. Session presented at: 2026 Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis Conference; June 17-19, 2026; Nashville, TN.