FRIDAY, Dec. 25 (HealthDay News) -- There are a number of novel therapies that use injectable chemicals to reduce fat, but they are not an alternative to liposuction and none have been given regulatory approval anywhere in the world, according to a study in the December issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Adam M. Rotunda, M.D., of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles, describes the differences between mesotherapy using compounds cutaneously primarily for pain management and in sports medicine; injection lipolysis using subcutaneous injections to mobilize and reduce fat; and adipolysis and related therapies such as sodium deoxycholate- and phosphatidylcholine-based injections used subcutaneously to ablate fat tissue and solubilize fat cell membranes.

Data on injection lipolysis is conflicting and limited, the researcher notes, and effects may be transient, while pharmaceutical grade injectable phosphatidylcholine/sodium deoxycholate or sodium deoxycholate medications are not available for any medical or cosmetic use in the United States. However, injectable fat reduction therapies may become available in the near future, he comments.

"Injectable fat reducing therapies are not an alternative to liposuction," the author writes. "Extensive preclinical safety testing and rigorous clinical trials demonstrating a favorable product profile using a pharmaceutical grade formulation will be required for regulatory authority approval."

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