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

    Scientists Replicate Folding Human Brain In 3D In Lab

    Scientists Replicate Folding Human Brain In 3D In Lab
    Understanding how the brain folds could help unlock its inner workings and unravel brain-related disorders as function often follows form.

    Scientists Replicate Folding Human Brain In 3D In Lab

    Health Care Not Doing Enough To Help Canadians Who Have Damaged Hearts: Report

    Health Care Not Doing Enough To Help Canadians Who Have Damaged Hearts: Report
    A new report says more needs to be done to help a growing number of Canadians who are living with damaged hearts.

    Health Care Not Doing Enough To Help Canadians Who Have Damaged Hearts: Report

    How One Sugary Drink Daily Boosts India's Death Rate

    How One Sugary Drink Daily Boosts India's Death Rate
    Sugar-sweetened beverages account for every one in 200 deaths caused by IndiaÂ’s rising tide of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, according to a 2015 study.

    How One Sugary Drink Daily Boosts India's Death Rate

    Washington Man Identified As Victim Of Skiing Accident In Rossland, B.C.

    Washington Man Identified As Victim Of Skiing Accident In Rossland, B.C.
    A man who died after a skiing accident in British Columbia's Kootenay region has been identified as a 49-year-old man from Washington state.

    Washington Man Identified As Victim Of Skiing Accident In Rossland, B.C.

    'Zika Virus Poses Only 'Very Low' Threat To Canada' - 5 Things You need To Know

    'Zika Virus Poses Only 'Very Low' Threat To Canada' -  5 Things You need To Know
    Dr. Gregory Taylor says there have been four recent cases in Canada — two in British Columbia, one in Alberta and a newly disclosed case in Quebec, all of them involving people who recently travelled to affected areas.

    'Zika Virus Poses Only 'Very Low' Threat To Canada' - 5 Things You need To Know

    How App Helped Rural Indian Women Use Modern Contraceptives

    How App Helped Rural Indian Women Use Modern Contraceptives
    "This shows that mobile technology provides an innovative and dynamic platform for social and behaviour change communication," Velu said.

    How App Helped Rural Indian Women Use Modern Contraceptives