A skin patch that dissolves fat?

Humans have two types of fat. White adipose tissue (WAT) stores excess energy in large droplets of triglycerides, typically referred to as unhealthy or "bad" fat. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) contains smaller droplets and a high number of mitochondria that burn fat to produce heat. When exposed to cold temperatures or when stimulated by exercise, the body can convert adult WAT into BAT in a process known as browning. This process can be employed to combat diabetes and obesity (Cavalera, Axling, Berger, & Holm, 2016; Khidr, Ali, Elshafey, & Fawzy, 2017; Wankhade, Shen, Yadav, & Thakali, 2016). However, current treatment options are limited to pills and injections, which are do not produce strong or localized results.

A research team at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) wanted to investigate localized browning while increasing overall metabolism. They created a microneedle skin patch that has nanoparticles containing either rosiglitazone (Avandia), an oral diabetes medication, or CL316243, a beta adrenergic agonist (a class of medication that relaxes muscles in the airway) that has been shown to stimulate browning in mice (Zhang et al., 2017). The mice two patches which were placed on either side of the lower abdomen. The patches were replaced every three days over the course of four weeks. Experimental mice received one patch with drug-containing nanoparticles and one patch with empty nanoparticles, while control mice received two patches with empty nanoparticles.

The experiment demonstrated an additional 20% overall fat reduction on the side receiving a drug when compared to the side receiving no drugs. Treated mice exhibited lower fasting blood glucose levels than control mice. Genetic analyses also indicated an increase in BAT-associated genes when exposed to the drug, and the increase was observed locally. Applying the patch to lean mice led to an increase in oxygen consumption, indicating a metabolic increase.

However, this technology cannot quite yet be applied to humans. Humans lack beta3 andrenergic receptors in adipose tissues, meaning CL316243 may not be a viable treatment option. Furthermore, this patch only locally treats the symptoms of obesity and diabetes. For most, proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep are key to resolving obesity and managing diabetes.

References

Cavalera, M., Axling, U., Berger, K., & Holm, C. (2016). Rose hip supplementation increases

energy expenditure and induces browning of white adipose tissue. Nutrition &

Metabolism, 13, 1-9. doi:10.1186/s12986-016-0151-5

Khidr, E. G., Ali, S. S., Elshafey, M. M., & Fawzy, O. A. (2017). Association of irisin and

FNDC5 rs16835198 G > T gene polymorphism with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic

nephropathy. An Egyptian pilot study. Gene, 626, 26-31. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2017.05.010

Wankhade, U. D., Shen, M., Yadav, H., & Thakali, K. M. (2016). Novel browning agents,

mechanisms, and therapeutic potentials of brown adipose tissue. Biomed Research

International, 20, 161-15. doi:10.1155/2016/2365609