Carboxytherapy may be a potential new method of fat reduction due to positive trial results. It should be noted that changes were modest and did not result in long term fat reduction, the method still needs to be optimized to make it long lasting.
Carboxytherapy technique benefits are that it is said to be a safe, inexpensive gas, and injection into fat pockets may become a preferred method for patients who want to use more natural treatments in the future, as non-invasive fat reduction is becoming increasingly sought after due to diminished downtime, scarring avoidance, and perceived safety.
Non-invasive current technologies commonly used for fat reduction include radiofrequency, cryolipolysis, chemical adipocytolysis, laser assisted fat reduction, and high intensity ultrasound. Primarily conducted outside of the USA carboxytherapy has few clinical studies suggesting that it may provide lasting improvements in abdominal contours.
Carboxytherapy is not fully understood, it is believed that the injections cause changes in microcirculation that damages fat cells. There have not been any randomized controlled trials conducted to evaluate efficacy of benefit over time. This study was designed by researchers at Northwestern Medicine to assess effectiveness in a controlled randomized manner to determine if there were any observed benefits to persist after six months.
The study consisted of 16 adults who were not overweight that were randomized to get weekly injections of placebo or carbon dioxide injections to one side of their abdomens for 5 weeks. High resolution ultrasound showed a decrease in superficial fat after 5 weeks but not at 28, body weight of the participants did not change over the course of the study.
Difference in superficial fat was not maintained at six month follow up after treatment, suggesting that there was a temporary stimulation of metabolic processes that reduced the size of fat cells without inducing cell death. If carboxytherapy can be optimized to provide prolonged benefits, more studies are conducted to show safety and underlying mechanisms it may offer patients another non-invasive fat reduction option.
