The quest for clarifying the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis (eczema) has lasted for 25 centuries. Yearning to discern the primum movens of atopic dermatitis, physicians aimed to identify the curative therapy. Recent scientific efforts has brought to the light an ever-growing amount of interplaying pathophysiologic factors, including the epidermal barrier, the digestive flora, food, early infections and antigenic stimulations, and innate and adaptive immune response; however, overfocusing on some of these factors, along with misconceptions about the benefit/risk balance of topical therapies, has sometimes led topical therapies being disregarded. Reviewing the history of pathophysiologic concepts, we aim to return topical therapies to the center of the clinical management of atopic dermatitis.
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