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VIDEO: New treatment developments on the horizon for acute hereditary angioedema

BOSTON — The landscape of hereditary angioedema and how it is diagnosed, assessed and treated has been ever-evolving and will continue to change as new treatment options for the rare disorder are identified, according to Michael E. Manning, MD, FAACI, of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Associates LTD in Arizona.

“I think a lot of the controversy, or, ‘What’s the best way to practice and take care of patients with [hereditary angioedema]?’, is, ‘Who needs prophylaxis?’, [because] that’s a very grey zone,” Manning told Healio Internal Medicine. “We know that if there’s a significant burden of disease, patients don’t have adequate access to [acute] medical care. If they have frequent attacks, at least greater than one a month, that’s a conversation a physician should have with the patient: ‘Is prophylaxis right for them?’”

Manning spoke exclusively to Healio Internal Medicine after moderating a symposium at the ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting on ‘Current Management of Hereditary Angioedema: Considerations to Optimize Individualized Care’ and detailed the trajectory of treatment options for the hereditary autosomal dominant genetic that leads to severe swelling episodes in the body.

Manning urged physicians to continue monitoring the literature because there will be “breaking developments in the years to come.”