7. Therapy
AE therapy has undergone a true revolution in recent years. We are on
the way to being spoilt for choice in deciding which systemic therapy to
use. What remains to be seen, however, is which subtype of AE will
respond to which new targeted drug. Tailored treatment strategy in AE
depends on the individual patients’ age, history and disease severity,
evaluated by assessing both objective and subjective [108, 109].
Interestingly, unique T-cell subsets and cytokine patterns in pediatric
compared to adult AE patients urge for age-specific therapies [110]
[108]. Considering the multidimensional nature of AE, effective
disease management incorporates different pillars of treatment. Besides
basic skin care and individual pharmacological approaches, patient
education and self-management strategies that address social and
environmental factors have to be included – not only to optimize
individual outcomes, but also to reduce unnecessary costs associated
with the management of AE [111]. The knowledge and therapy options
expand rapidly in AE and the current standards for diagnosis and therapy
are nicely summarized by Wollenberg et al [112, 113]. Interestingly,
a recent study has shown that patients self-reported disease severity
seems to be correlated with treatment satisfaction of AE patients
[114].