Stefan Heim’s scientific contributions

This prospective, noninterventional, multicenter 12-wk study in women with overactive bladder investigated the effectiveness of Granu Fink femina, a herbal combination of seed oil from Uromedic pumpkin (cultivar of Cucurbita pepo), Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumach) bark extract, and Humulus lupulus (hop) cone extract in a clinical setting. Patients documented overactive bladder symptoms and quality of life using questionnaires as well as diaries recording day- and nighttime micturition frequencies, urine leakages during physical activity or at sneezing or coughing, and use of incontinence pads. The full analysis set included 117 women (age: 21 – 78 y). Urination frequency decreased significantly with improvement during daytime in 49, 71, and 77 (out of 99) patients and at night in 45, 63, and 70 (out of 100) patients after 1, 6, and 12 wk, respectively. The mean frequency of leakages and used pads decreased significantly from 0.9 leakages and 2.0 pads at baseline to 0.4 leakages and 1.4 pads after 12 wk. In all measured aspects of overactive bladder-related quality of life, (coping, concern, sleep, social), statistically significant improvement was reached after 1 wk, with further improvement at 6 and 12 wk. Ninety-nine percent of the physicians and 95.4% of the patients rated tolerability as “very good” or “good”. Treatment with Granu Fink femina progressively improved overactive bladder symptoms and related quality of life with significant improvements already after 1 wk. Based on these effects and the observed excellent tolerability profile, Granu Fink femina may be considered a valuable therapeutic option for overactive bladder.