Dermatology in Older Adults (GeriDerm): Daniel Butler and Eleni Linos

In this episode of the GeriPal podcast, we dive into the fascinating world of geriatric dermatology, or "GeriDerm," with two exceptional guests: Dr. Daniel Butler from the University of Arizona and Dr. Eleni Linos from Stanford University.  First, we tackle the big question: how do we keep our skin healthy as we age? I see this on a daily basis with my own skin, but I'm unsure what to do about it, including whether we all need to use sun protection and moisturizers, and if so, which ones?   Then we explore the lag time to benefit in dermatology by examining whether we need to treat every actinic keratosis and basal cell carcinoma aggressively, or whether there are cases where we can opt for watchful waiting.  We also explore chronic itch with Daniel, covering the three main sources of itch and how our management should change accordingly. Importantly, antihistamines were not a prominent part! We finally asked Eleni whether artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools can revolutionize the way we diagnose and manage skin conditions, especially in older adults.  For a deeper dive into the topic, check out these two papers that we talk about on the podcast - Daniel's JAMA paper on Chronic Pruritus - Elani's JAMA IM paper on Active Surveillance as a Management Option for Low-risk Basal Cell Carcinoma