The connection between allergies, eczema, and alopecia areata in adults and children: Implications for new treatments

Speaker:  Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD

Some people who have alopecia areata also have allergic conditions like eczema, asthma, hay fever, and food allergies – among others. Or they may have close family members with similar conditions. This presentation will cover how alopecia areata and these allergic (or atopic) conditions can be related, and what this means for treatment.

Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD is the Waldman Professor of Dermatology and Immunology and the health system chair of the department of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. She is also the director of the center for excellence in eczema and the laboratory for inflammatory skin diseases. Dr. Guttman’s major research focus areas are atopic dermatitis (AD)/eczema and hair loss disorders. Her research made paradigm-shifting discoveries on the immunologic basis of AD/eczema in adults and children with atopic dermatitis, enriching the understanding of the pathophysiology of this common disorder, opening the door for novel, pathway-specific drugs in this disease. Recently, Dr. Guttman extended her research interest to hair loss disorders such as alopecia areata and scarring hair loss disorders, chronic hand eczema, keloids, ichtyosis, and other skin diseases, in which her findings are also translated to novel therapeutics. Dr. Guttman co-founded the international eczema council (IEC) and is its immediate past president. Dr. Guttman received many national and international awards (e.g the AAAAI Award for Scientific Innovation and for pioneering discoveries, AAD Young Investigator award, etc). She was elected as a member to the American Society for Clinical Investigation/ASCI, and the American Dermatological Society/ADA. She is a co-organizer of one of the most important global meetings in dermatology, the Inflammatory Skin Disease Summit (ISDS), and serves on the editorial board of several high impact journals. Dr. Gutman delivered many keynote and plenary presentations in international and national meetings and authored >350 peer-reviewed publications.