FDA issues warnings about Lipodissolve

From the FDA website...

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It's a tempting premise: Get a series of drug injections and see pockets of fat on your body go away for good. But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers about false and misleading claims being made about products used in lipodissolve, and about other misbranding of these products.

Recipients of lipodissolve get a series of drug injections intended to dissolve and permanently remove small pockets of fat from various parts of the body. The process is also known as injection lipolysis, lipozap, lipotherapy, and mesotherapy.

“We are concerned that these companies are misleading consumers,” says Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “It is important for anyone who is considering this voluntary procedure to understand that the products used to perform lipodissolve procedures are not approved by FDA for fat removal.”

The drugs most regularly used in the lipodissolve injection regimen are phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate (commonly called PC and DC, respectively). Other ingredients may also be used, including drugs or components of other products such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal extracts.

What Consumers Should Know:
- FDA is alerting consumers that it has not approved products for use in lipodissolve.
- It is not aware of evidence supporting the effectiveness of the substances used in lipodissolve for fat elimination.
- The safety of these substances, when used alone or in combination, is unknown.
- It is not aware of clinical studies to support medical uses of lipodissolve.

In addition, FDA has reports of unexpected side effects in people who’ve undergone the lipodissolve procedure. These side effects include: permanent scarring, skin deformation, and deep, painful knots under the skin in areas where the lipodissolve treatments were injected.

FDA Actions:
On April 7, 2010, FDA announced it had sent warning letters to six medical spas in the United States—and a cyber letter to a company in Brazil—for making false or misleading statements on their Web sites about drugs used in the procedure, or for otherwise misbranding lipodissolve products.

The U.S. medical spas receiving warning letters make various unsupported claims about lipodissolve, such as assertions that the products used in lipodissolve:
"are safe and effective"
"have an outstanding safety record"
"are superior to other fat-loss procedures, including liposuction".

The U.S. companies receiving warning letters in regard to lipodissolve products are
Monarch Med Spa, King of Prussia, Pa.
Spa 35, Boise, Idaho
Medical Cosmetic Enhancements, Chevy Chase, Md.
Innovative Directions in Health, Edina, Minn.
PURE Med Spa, Boca Raton, Fla.
All About You Med Spa, Madison, Ind.