Today, it's all about the eyes, which are somewhat the extension of our brain, so treating ANY condition with them can be scary. I've gotten a lot of questions from listeners about dupilumab (Dupixent) and the side effects specifically when it comes to the eyes. So to dive in on this topic, I brought in today's guest, Dr. Roselie Achten, since her PhD focuses on ocular surface disease in atopic dermatitis patients before and during dupilumab treatment.

Dr. Roselie Achten is a medical doctor and PhD student at the Department of Dermatology at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and I am so excited to have her on the show! You can find some of her research findings in the links section below.

Have you ever experienced any side effects with your eyes after starting dupilumab? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

In this episode:

• Stats on how many patients develop Dupixent eye side effects (aka. dupilumab-associated ocular surface disease)
• Eye symptoms of patients commonly complain about
• How long does it typically take to develop eye problems from Dupixent?
• What puts you more at risk for developing Dupixent eye side effects?
• What are your options if you develop Dupixent eye side effects?
• Can reducing the use of Dupixent help?

Quotes

“We were also quite surprised by the fact that the majority of the patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis already had characteristics of the ocular surface disease. So of the 70 patients that were analyzed, 90% of them already had characteristics of ocular surface disease before the start of Dupilumab treatment." [11:09]

"If patients have these signs and symptoms of dupilumab associated ocular surface disease, we first start with tacrolimus skin ointment for the external eyelids. We also start with ketotifen, which is an antihistamine eye drop... also the artificial tears, it's more for if you experience a dry eye sensation, it could lead to improvement of that symptom for a little time." [17:12]

Links

Find Dr. Roselie Achten online here

Healthy Skin Show ep. 244: How Do Biologic Drugs For Chronic Skin Conditions Work? w/ Heather Zwickey, PhD

Long-term follow-up and treatment outcomes of conjunctivitis during dupilumab treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis - ScienceDirect

Identification of Risk Factors for Dupilumab-associated Ocular Surface Disease in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis - PMC (nih.gov)

Ocular surface disease is common in moderate to severe atopic derma

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