Pimecrolimus ['Elidel'] is an effective long-term therapy for atopic dermatitis in adults, children and infants, according to studies presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) [New Orleans, US; February 2002]. Results from clinical trials presented at the meeting showed that pimecrolimus, a cytokine inhibitor that targets T cells in the skin, was significantly more effective than conventional therapy in both reducing the incidence of disease flares and the subsequent requirement for corticosteroid therapy. Long-term treatment with pimecrolimus was well tolerated in these studies and the incidence of application site burning, a common complaint with established treatments for atopic dermatitis, was comparable to that reported with placebo. A separate study in adult patients showed that intermittent long-term treatment with pimecrolimus is unlikely to cause any systemic adverse events, as blood concentrations of the drug were low after topical administration, remaining below detectable limits in the majority of patients, regardless of the surface area treated.