Selective Reduction of Visceral Adipose Tissue with Injectable Ice Slurry

Reduction in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass reduces body weight and metabolic disease risk in obese patients. However surgical removal of VAT is highly invasive and thus not clinically feasible. We developed an injectable ice slurry for selective reduction of adipose tissue through cryolipolysis. The aim of this study was to investigate safety, feasibility and mechanism of ice slurry-induced cryolipolysis of VAT. Perigonadal VAT in diet-induced obese mice and rats was subjected to slurry or sham treatment. Body weight and blood chemistry were monitored for 56 days post-treatment. Histological analysis and molecular studies were performed to elucidate mechanisms of fat reduction. Treatment of VAT was well tolerated in all animals. Slurry induced adipocyte cell death via selective cryolipolysis; significant weight loss was noted at day 21 post-treatment. RNA sequencing from treated VAT samples showed increased expression of genes involved in inflammation, immune response, collagen biosynthesis and wound healing, and decreased expression of adipokines. This study demonstrates that slurry treatment is safe and effective in inducing cryolipolysis of VAT and subsequent weight loss in rodents. Ice slurry is promising as a minimally-invasive treatment to reduce visceral adipose tissue. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (200g and 8 weeks old) were fed with high fat diet (rodent diet with 60 kcal% fat) for 9 weeks prior to the treatment and then for the duration of study. Twenty rats were used in this study. Perigonadal adipose tissue on one side was exposed through an abdominal incision, and injected with 10 ml of slurry prior to closing the incision with sutures. Animals were sacrificed at 24 hours, 1 days, 3 days and 14 days.