24. Oct 2022
Close to ten percent of the German population live with atopic dermatitis (or atopic eczema) of varying severity, affecting children significantly more frequently than adults (cf. https://idw-online.de/de/news801285). That is why new treatments are constantly being researched – always in an effort to stay clear of drugs with significant side effects, opting for different, natural and bio-based options instead.
This is where medical skincare comes into play as it supports the skin’s microbiome and may thus help to prevent infections and other consequences of atopic dermatitis. In the case of atopic dermatitis, “the skin won’t produce specific barrier molecules”, as Professor Claudia Traidl-Hofmann explained when interviewed by the Augsburger Allgemeine. The head of the institute of environmental medicine at the University Hospital Augsburg continued: “Imagine a brick wall with mortar missing. In some sense, the skin simply isn’t leak-proof.” Pathogens would be able to enter the skin and might even change the skin microbiome, which in turn facilitate skin infections.
Past treatment commonly involved cortisone lotions or immunosuppressants which in addition to the expected effects also had side effects and weren’t specific enough. Oral administration of cortisone had also become shunned. Instead, research now focused on new drugs “which basically have no side effects”, said Ms. Traidl-Hofmann. Today, research was able “to examine the skin microbiome and say whether a treatment for atopic dermatitis will be successful in the long run”. In addition, there were efforts “to affect the microbiome using lotions – not medication, but skin emollients.”
In recent years, this kind of medical skincare has taken on greater significance, a growing number of manufacturers bank on using microbiotic agents to stabilise the microbiome.
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