Coming Soon: Liposuction in a Pill
Scientists are working on a drug that may be used for chemical liposuction. It’s a natural enzyme that breaks down collagen in cells. Right now, it’s being used to shrink cancer tumors but researcher Tom Wegman says, “There’s no reason why fat in other parts of the body wouldn’t respond in the same way?We did think then that this might become a kind of chemical liposuction.” It’s already worked on obese mice.
But Wegman says, “We have yet to decide whether we want to investigate its effects for removing body fat. To become licensed as a chemical liposuction in the U.S. would be an expensive proposition.” In 2001, doctors conducted about 800,000 liposuction procedures in the U.S. alone.
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