Treating seborrheic dermatitis: review of mechanisms and therapeutic options

Seborrheic dermatitis is one of those conditions that dermatologists and patients alike tend to find a routine for, and in many cases those routines are hard to break. And, unlike the new treatment paradigms for eczema, acne, and even actinic keratoses, combination therapies for addressing the disease process typically have not been a part of the approach to treating seborrheic dermatitis. However, with the advent of new therapies and vehicles as well as a better understanding of how neutrophils and free oxygen radicals impact inflammation,1 there are new options to maintain and control the disease process of seborrheic dermatitis to minimize flares. Although the needs of the scalp, face and chest are different, as are the variations in skin types, the fundamental mechanisms of the inflammatory process are often the same. If it is understood that seborrheic dermatitis is histologically classified as a papulosquamous disorder with paucineutrophilic and lymphocytic infiltrates, and if the trigger and etiologic agent most likely is Malassezia furfur, then the ideal mechanisms of action of therapies should be directed as such