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A review of mesotherapy solutions for breaking down fat and treating cellulite

There was a time when I heard about some topical applications that claimed to shrink fat cells just beneath the skin.  If true, then they could help improve cellulite, the cottage-cheese-like appearance of the skin that many women have in the back of the upper thighs and buttocks and some men also.  I assumed these were a scam, but some of these drugs work, and here is the latest literature review on them.

These drugs are lipolytic agents or agents that break down fat molecules deposited in adipose tissue (fat tissue) and thereby reduce the size of fat cells.  The broken down fat products are then either burned by the body to meet its energy needs or used to build various molecules.  Trying to take an oral drug to increase whole body lipolysis would not necessarily be a good idea to tackle cellulite, especially for some people, because one wouldn’t want to flood one’s blood stream with fatty acids (one of the byproducts of fat breakdown).  If one were to flood the blood stream with fatty acids, then blood sugars will have a harder time entering cells and more sugars will be left in the bloodstream.  In other words, one would be shifting toward a condition that, taken to an extreme, would result in diabetes. 

The cottage cheese appearance of cellulite is caused by fat cells bulging out against connective tissue strands.  Since these fat cells are close to the skin surface and localized over a small region, one could try to either use a topical preparation of a lipolytic agent or inject lipolytic agents just beneath the skin (referred to as mesotherapy) to shrink them and improve the appearance of the skin.  Caruso et al. evaluated the efficacy of various drugs in breaking down fats in a culture of human fat cells.(1, pdf)  Whereas this was not an example of actual application of product on women, some of these drugs have been successfully used on women, as cited in the article.

In the table below, the first column lists the drugs used that may be used singly or in combination.  The assay buffer is just a lipolytic-agent-free solution that is used as control or as a baseline reference.  The third row is labeled fold induction, and this is a measure of the extent of fat breakdown.  The control/baseline value is 1.0.  Values higher than 1.0 imply fat breakdown.  It is possible that a value of 1.2 is obtained by chance rather than fat breakdown, but a value of 2.5 is unlikely to be obtained by chance.  So the fourth column lists the probability that the listed value results from chance alone rather than genuine fat breakdown.  If this probability value is less than 0.05 or less than 5%, then the likelihood of the higher-than-one value resulting from chance alone is so low that most likely we are looking at genuine fat breakdown.  So we can be confident that in all trials except that described in the row before last there was genuine fat breakdown.

Table 1 

Stimulation of lipolysis by compounds used in mesotherapy

Components

Concentration

Fold induction (±SEM)

P-value

Observations (wells)

Isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) control

1.0 x 10–4 M

2.3 ± 0.24

P < 0.01

n = 3

Assay buffer

Full strength

1.0

Control

n = 5

Aminophylline

1.0 x 10–4 M

2.5 ± 0.57

P < 0.00004

n = 3

Isoproterenol

1.0 x 10–7 M

2.7 ± 0.06

P < 0.002

n = 3 

Yohimbine

1.0 x 10–7 M

2.0 ± 0.19

P < 0.001

n = 3 

Melilotus

0.02%

2.2 ± 0.33

P < 0.01

n = 3 

Melilotus
Aminophylline

0.02%
1.0 x 10–4 M

2.7 ± 0.05

P < 0.001 vs. control
P < 0.001 vs. melilotus

n = 3 

Aminophylline
Isoproterenol

1.0 x 10–4 M
1.0 x 10–7 M

3.6 ± 0.42

P < 0.001 vs. control
P < 0.01 vs. isoproterenol

n = 3

Aminophylline
Isoproterenol
Yohimbine

1.0 x 10–4 M
1.0 x 10–7 M
1.0 x 10–7 M

2.5 ± 0.12

P < 0.0007 vs. control

n = 3 

Aminophylline
Isoproterenol
Lidocaine

1.0 x 10–4 M
1.0 x 10–7 M
1.0 x 10–5 M

1.5 ± 0.41

P = Not significant vs. control

n = 3

Aminophylline
Isoproterenol
Yohimbine
Lidocaine

1.0 x 10–4 M
1.0 x 10–7 M
1.0 x 10–7 M
1.0 x 10–5 M

1.4 ± 0.04

P < 0.05 vs. control

n = 3

Note the last two rows in the table.  The drug combinations in the last two rows produced the lowest values (one was ineffective, the other barely effective).  These low values result from lidocaine, an anesthetic.  Curiously, topical applications sold to combat cellulite usually contain anesthetics such as lidocaine, procaine and prilocaine, and topical anesthetics tend to suppress fat breakdown.  So one shouldn’t be using products containing topical anesthetics.

There also is the issue of side effects, but I am guessing that with some exceptions the side effects are typically minimal because one doesn’t need a prescription for most of these drugs.  The one problem that I see would be isoproterenol.  If a sufficiently large amount of it were absorbed by the body then it would cause enlargement of the skeletal muscles and heart, but the amount needed for mesotherapy may not be reason for concern.  I will see if I can find more information because as seen from the table, a combination of Aminophylline and Isoproterenol was the most potent.

There are bound to be many more drugs that will work.  They would need to be absorbable by the skin if applied topically and have lipolytic activity, and of course minimal side effects. 

Looking at the table, chances are that some topical applications could be made at home or at least the informed reader can do some smart shopping to avoid wasting money on products by big companies that make one pay for their advertising costs.

References

  1. Caruso, M. K., Roberts, A. T., Bissoon, L., Self, K. S., Guillot, T. S., and Greenway, F. L., An evaluation of mesotherapy solutions for inducing lipolysis and treating cellulite, J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg (2007), doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2007.03.039.

Comments

There's a much better non-surgical treatment for celulite/surface fatty deposites out these days. It's an updated version of the thermage "laser" that non only breaks up surface fatty tissue, but also stretched connective bonds. I've tried both this and meso before, and there is no comparison.

*stretches* connective bonds

Good morning ,

I am currently utilizing meso products I purchased online from Brasil...I am only 1 treatment in, so we will see. I am attempting to lower my bdy fat % and reduce the cellulite on thighs, hips, butt.

Funny though that I am choosing to do this since I have a fear of needles...injecting myself proves to be quite a interesting endeavor I get light-headed & nausea anytime I even see a needle: I simply refuse to give some Doc hundreds of dollars for injecting me, when I know full well how to inject self as well as the ingredients are not costly at all!

If anyone has recommendations for where to purchase trusted meso products please email me at lbcabrera [at] gmail.com, I will truely appreciate it!

Or if you have any other advice, such as topical creams etc

Wish me luck,

LULA :) :bug:

I purchased the meso products and was unclear on how to adminster the injections (eg. how much of the liquid and how many injections for the 1st treatment. How has the product been working for you? any great losses? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh, and really, no bath for 48 hours after?

Movsepian: I have no personal experience with treatments for cellulite, but it looks like you are right about the much better results from laser-based treatment of cellulite.

Elsie: What you bought is almost certainly not meant to be injected but something meant to be rubbed on the skin. Injections for any kind of treatment fall under the domain of medical procedures, and you don't want to end up with scars and bruises. Regulatory agencies have been moving toward banning Spa services from offering mesotherapy procedures, and this ban is in effect in Kansas, Brazil, etc. So it is unlikely that you purchased an actual mesotherapy solution. You should have someone take good pictures of your bacskide and upper thighs and then try the cream on one side only for a few weeks to see if it ends up looking better than the other side. This is the recommended procedure or else if, say, you are simultaneously attempting to lose general body fat, then some fat loss from the dieting will improve the appearance of cellulite but you may mistakenly assume that the cellulite cream worked. Look into the laser-based treatments.

Erik, rubbing creams on the skin, though somewhat effective, is not the best way to remove cellulite. The best and most permanent way is to start the subject on a thorough diet and exercise plan, mainly consuming healthy vegetables and fruits (more vegetables than fruits because of the high sugar content in fruit which will probably make the problem worse). A diet rich in healthful meats, fats, and vegetables, along with exercises such as walking and running will help. Massaging the afflicted area along with hydrotherapy has also proven effective.

Also, going to this sort of diet will help in accentuating feminine beauty. A large amount of women are suffering from over-exposure to estrogen-like chemicals in the environment(soy, plastics, etc.) and this contributes to cellulite and masculine builds.

Just wanted to throw my two cents in! Very informative site by the way, everyone I ask tells me that they think that supermodels aren't that pretty because a) they oft times look like dudes and b) are too thin.

I bought the treatments online which included the solution and the needles as well as the numbing cream. I have watched and read the information online and even saw people having it done on youtube.com I must admit, the bruising is what I am a little scared of. But the information that I have read, everyone is pleased with the results. Is there or does anybody know of someone that has actually done the at home injection procedure? thanks

Well above I think we have to have a healthy eating program in order to start a fair fight with cellulite, it's not that easy to get rid of it and the best ways to beat it are the longest and meticulous ways. Also natural products have great effects, I know this for a fact. I currently use sea mud soap and I am happy about my skin.

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