No abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease with a complex pathophysiology. Treatment of AD remains challenging owing to the presence of a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes and limited response to existing therapies. However, recent genetic, immunological, and pathophysiological insights into the disease mechanism resulted in the invention of novel therapeutic drug candidates. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current therapies and assesses various novel drug delivery strategies currently under clinical investigation. Further, this review majorly emphasizes on various topical treatments including emollient therapies, barrier repair agents, topical corticosteroids (TCS), phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, calcineurin inhibitors, and Janus kinase (<i>JAK</i>)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (<i>STAT</i>) pathway inhibitors. It also discusses biological and systemic therapies, upcoming treatments based on ongoing clinical trials. Additionally, this review scrutinized the use of pharmaceutical inactive ingredients in the approved topical dosage forms for AD treatment.