Growing numbers of people with atopic dermatitis (AD) are expressing ‘steroid phobia,’ and counseling these patients and their families on appropriate use of corticosteroids can help ease their concerns. There is a time and place for steroids in treating AD, but the advent of advanced non-steroidal topicals, including ruxolitinib (Opzelura, Incyte), a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor cream, is expanding treatment choices—without sacrificing efficacy.

In this episode of Prescribing Hope in AD: The Podcast, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI, FAAD, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, IL, and Founder and Director of the Center for Medical Dermatology + Immunology Research in Chicago, IL, and Linda Stein Gold, MD, Director of Dermatology Clinical Research at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, MI, discuss the role of the new generation of advanced topicals in AD and compare and contrast potential side effects seen with steroids to the boxed warning that appears on topical JAK inhibitors, providing key context for treatment decision-making.

In this episode of Get Lit, Ted Rosen, MD, the Editor-in-Chief of The Dermatology Digest®, takes a deep dive into the recent dermatology literature, including a large-scale study in the April 2026 issue of Cancer Research Communications that showed that lifelong singles develop cancer at significantly higher rates than those who have or are married. He also weighs in on the possible unintended consequences of a price increase in condoms due to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. “There's a concern in infectious disease circles that if condoms get too expensive, they won't be bought, they won't be used, and that there might be a surge in sexually transmitted diseases,” he says.

Milestones in Vitiligo Treatment

When Maui, HI-based Dermatologist George Martin, MD, first started out in 1985, vitiligo was considered an orphan disease, but times have changed. “The evolution over the past 40-plus years has been nothing but astounding,” he says in this episode of Prescribing Hope: The Podcast, which features audio-only bonus content.

Calling the development and approval of topical ruxolitinib (Opzelura, Incyte) for vitiligo a “total game-changer” and proof that the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway was a major player in the pathogenesis of vitiligo, Dr. Martin discusses the importance of managing patient expectations and encouraging patience during the repigmentation process. “We will know at six months how well a patient [using topical ruxolitinib] is doing, but people continue to repigment after two years and even into the third year,” he says.

He also shares tips on diagnosing vitiligo and on which autoimmune comorbidities to look for in patients, including thyroid disease and pernicious anemia. Make sure to stay tuned until the end for a sneak peek into the robust vitiligo pipeline.