A patch can be developed that can treat obesity simply by applying it on the skin

Storing neutral fat in human fatWhite adipose tissueBurn fat and produce heatBrown adipose tissueThere is a method to change white adipose tissue to brown adipose tissue as a treatment of obesity, but a method that can convert fat by attaching a patch with a new microneedle adhered was developed.

Locally Induced Adipose Tissue Browning by Microneedle Patch for Obesity Treatment - ACS Nano (ACS Publications)
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.7b04348

A microneedle skin patch could help melt fat right off of us
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/microneedle-skin-patch/

The mechanism of the fat dissolving patch can be seen from the following movie.

A Skin Patch That Can Melt Fat - YouTube


This is a patch newly developed by researchers at Columbia University and North Carolina University.


Microneedles of invisible size are adhered tightly. Even if I put a patch on my skin, I do not feel pain.


Human fat isWhite adipose tissueWhenBrown adipose tissueWhite fat tissue accumulates excess fat in large spheres but brown adipose tissue saves in small spheres and mitochondria and plays a role of burning fat to generate heat I will. Many researchers are looking for ways to convert white adipose tissue to brown adipose tissue for the treatment of obesity, and the patch developed this time is one such conversion method.


When applying a patch to the skin, the drug absorbed from the skin is delivered only to the targeted site as nanoparticles.


When the medicine reaches the white adipose tissue ...


Change to brown adipose tissue.


Many brown adipose tissues are abundant in newborn babies. By burning fat to produce heat, brown cells play the role of newborn babies to keep fever.


In the experiment, when patch was pasted on the mouse, the adipose tissue shrunk by 20% in 2 weeks.


Moreover, the blood glucose level also decreased.


Associate professor Zhen Gu, who conducted the research said, "Our research group has been developing insulin, glucagon,PD-1We have developed a patch equipped with microneedles to which we applied. One day, my wife said, "How about a patch to prevent obesity? "I was calling out. Professor Li Qiang offered the same proposal, so we decided to work on it together. " There are drugs that promote the conversion of white adipose tissue to brown adipose tissue even in 2017, but they are all by tablets and syringes. In addition, using these methods may cause side effects such as abdominal pain, weight gain, bone fracture, etc. However, since newly developed patch carries drug directly to adipose tissue, it is said that relieve these problems It is that.