An ointment for eczema?

Is there an ointment for atopic dermatitis?

A miracle cure for atopic dermatitis or a big PR coup

A murmur went through the Republic, as the documentary „Healing unwanted“ ran in the ARD. There was talk of a panacea for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. And from the fact that the pharmaceutical industry intentionally boycotted the manufacturing and distribution, so that Regivererm does not compete with their products. „Money is earned on chronic suffering“ so the verdict of Klingelhöller in the documentary. Now, the inventor of the ointment, Karsten Klingelhöller, and the distributor of the product, Mavena Health Care AG, have themselves made headlines. Due to the charisma of the film „Healing unwanted“, should the Swiss company have decided to bring the ointment on the market. However, as it turned out, the manufacturer Regeneratio Pharma GmbH and Mavena AG had already reached an agreement in September.

The main ingredient of the ointment is the vitamin B 12 and avocado oil, it is a class II medical device and not a medicine. There is no compulsory pharmacy, unlike medicines, it is not necessary to have a proof of efficacy in order to market the product. The required clinical tests for a Class II medical device are minimal and not comparable to those for a drug. Here one could already have become clairaudient in the documentary film. Three small, non-representative studies are mentioned. Peter Altmeyer and Markus Stücker from the Dermatology Department of the Ruhr University Bochum tested the ointment to 13 people. Opposite Spiegel Online they announced that „Regividerm proved effective“. It is not intended for prolonged use, thus refuting the statement of the spokesman of the distribution company, who said in an interview with the radio station FFH, the product is suitable for long-term therapy.

How effective the ointment is, however, remains controversial. Unlike a drug, a medical device acts physically or chemically. The vitamin B 12 is intended to absorb the radicals which are formed during inflammatory processes in the skin of atopic dermatitis patients. The cause of the inflammatory process is therefore not treated. According to the manufacturer, it relieves the symptoms of the disease, but does not prevent it from developing. According to Stücker on Spiegel Online, the product could „to bring relief to moderate forms of atopic dermatitis“. It was not a miracle cure, however. An advantage over cortisone is certainly that the skin is not so badly affected. Here are also reports from users that the skin after treatment has itchy. In the show „Hard but fair“ Beda Stadler, Director of the Institute of Immunology at the University of Bern, spontaneously commented in the broadcast, "A little avocado oil with some vitamins in it can not cure these serious diseases." That's scam. "Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis can not be cured." He condemns the documentation of the genesis: „When you start doing your PhD in this way, you're playing with the hopes of the patients. "He described a supposed effect without side effects „reliable warning signal when someone tries to pull people over the table. "

How effective Regivererm is will only become apparent in the next few years, when those affected report on their experience with the ointment. What remains is the bitter aftertaste that everything was just a big PR coup to successfully market the agent. The sometimes quite justified doubts about the pharmaceutical industry were profitably exploited by those responsible. (Sb)