Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
Health

CO2 Injections May Help Cut Belly Fat

IANS, 11 Jun, 2018 01:00 PM
    Fed up of trying to reduce belly fat? A weekly carbon dioxide gas-based therapy could be safe and effective in eliminating fat around the stomach, results of first clinical trials have shown.
     
     
    Carboxytherapy -- carbon dioxide gas injections -- could potentially be a new and non-invasive means of fat reduction.
     
     
    However, the changes were modest and did not result in long-term fat reduction, according to the paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
     
    Carboxytherapy is a "safe, inexpensive gas, and injecting it into fat pockets may be preferred by patients who like natural treatments", said lead author Murad Alam, vice chair of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. 
     
     
    While the way carboxytherapy works is not well understood, it is believed that injection of carbon dioxide causes changes in the microcirculation, and damages fat cells, he said.
     
     
    For the study, the team included a small set of adults who were not overweight and were randomised to get weekly carbon dioxide gas injection to one side of their abdomens and a sham treatment on the other side once a week for five weeks. 
     
     
    A high-resolution ultrasound detected a reduction in superficial fat after five weeks but not at 28 weeks. The patients' body weight did not change over the course of the study.
     
     
    That the difference was not maintained at six months suggests the treatment stimulated a temporary metabolic process that reduced the size of fat cells without inducing cell death, Alam said.
     
     
    "If carboxytherapy can provide prolonged benefits, it offers patients yet another noninvasive option for fat reduction," Alam said. 
     
     
    "But we don't feel it's ready for prime time...and it still needs to be optimised, though, so it's long lasting," he noted.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Exercise May Delay Brain Aging By 10 Years

    Exercise May Delay Brain Aging By 10 Years
    Want to keep a sharp memory in old age? A study has found that moderate to intense regular exercise in old age may delay brain aging by 10 years.

    Exercise May Delay Brain Aging By 10 Years

    Indian-Origin Researcher Working To Beat 'Superbugs'

    Indian-Origin Researcher Working To Beat 'Superbugs'
    Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have developed novel peptide-like analogs or peptoids that have the similar antimicrobial properties as peptides but more robust.

    Indian-Origin Researcher Working To Beat 'Superbugs'

    Depressed? Blame It On Social Media

    Depressed? Blame It On Social Media
    Are you the one who is always clicking new selfies to be posted on Instagram or who updates the tiniest details of life on Facebook? Chances are that you are probably depressed!

    Depressed? Blame It On Social Media

    Light Drinking Possibly Not As Healthy As Once Thought: B.C. Scientist

    Light Drinking Possibly Not As Healthy As Once Thought: B.C. Scientist
    A newly released study is throwing cold water on the widely held notion that drinking a small amount of alcohol regularly has a positive impact on one's personal health.

    Light Drinking Possibly Not As Healthy As Once Thought: B.C. Scientist

    Stress During Pregnancy Linked To Low Birth Weight Of Babies

    Stress During Pregnancy Linked To Low Birth Weight Of Babies
    Even before a woman becomes pregnant, her stress physiology may predict a lower-birth weight of baby -- less than 2.5 kg, said a new study

    Stress During Pregnancy Linked To Low Birth Weight Of Babies

    What To Know About The Zika Virus

    What To Know About The Zika Virus
     The mosquito-borne Zika virus usually causes a mild illness but is now suspected in an unusual birth defect and other health issues

    What To Know About The Zika Virus