Patch instead of liposuction
Scientists have created a nanoplast that burns fat
American biologists have created an unusual nanoplast that causes white fat cells in the folds of the skin to turn into useful brown fat, and tested its work on mice, according to an article published in the journal ACS Nano.
"There are several drugs that transform white fat into brown. All of them have one drawback – they need to be consumed in the form of tablets or injections. As a result, the whole body is exposed to the drug, which leads to stomach problems, weight gain and bone fractures. Our patch is spared from these shortcomings," says Li Qiang from Columbia University (in a press release, Virginia Tech's Qiang Li works to improve battery life in small electronic devices – VM).
According to current WHO data, there has been a global epidemic of obesity in the world since the 80s of the last century. Last year, every third inhabitant of the globe, a total of 1.9 billion people, suffered from extra pounds, about 15% – from severe forms of obesity. According to the organization, 47% of diseases (for example, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer) are associated with obesity.
In recent years, scientists have been looking for ways to get rid of obesity not only with the help of a diet, but also various hormones and signaling molecules that make the body burn extra calories on its own. As experiments on mice have shown, this can be achieved by forcing some of the ordinary fat cells to turn into so-called brown fat.
Brown fat is found mainly in the tissues of infants and cubs and is used to quickly burn calories and heat the body. As the brown fat grows, it disappears. The body of adults is dominated by white fat, which plays the role of a "warehouse" of nutrients.
Recently, biologists have discovered that some substances, such as capsaicin, the main burning substance of pepper, as well as some hormones can reverse this process, but their medical use is complicated by the fact that this procedure affects the entire human body, which is extremely dangerous for health.
Qiang and his colleagues solved this problem by "packing" two similar hormones into nanoparticles, which gradually dissolve and release their contents when they enter the human body. Biologists placed these nanoparticles in a special patch – it is covered with nanoeedles and gradually introduces the substance into the human or animal body when pasted on the skin.
Figure from the article in ACS Nano – VM
Biologists tested the work of this fat-burning patch on mice suffering from obesity. Experiments have shown that the mass of fat on the side of the abdomen where the patch was glued was reduced by 20% just four weeks after the start of the experiment.
Weight loss led to other positive effects – the blood sugar level of rodents decreased markedly, their body began to respond better to insulin, they became more active. "Many people will undoubtedly be glad that we have created a less painful and safer alternative to liposuction. Most importantly, our technique can be used not only to treat obesity, but also to combat diabetes and other metabolic disorders," Qiang concludes.
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18.09.2017