Simultaneous Changes in Abdominal Adipose and Muscle Tissues Following Treatments by High-Intensity Focused...

Objective: This study investigates the effects of high-intensity focused electromagnetic technology for induction of changes in abdominal muscles and abdominal subcutaneous fat. Methods: 22 male and female subjects (aged 34 to 64, mean BMI, 23.5kg/m2) underwent 8 treatments of the abdomen (2 per week) with a high-intensity focused electromagnetic field device. Subjects were scanned by computed tomography (CT) at baseline and 1 month after the eighth treatment. Sub-umbilical and epi-umbilical slices were used to measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat and abdominal muscles and the abdominal separation. In addition, standardized photographs, weight, and circumference measurements were collected. Results: While comparing baseline to follow-up measurements, CT data showed on average 17.5% (-3.1±1.9mm) reduction in subcutaneous fat and simultaneous 14.8% (+1.5±0.8mm) thickening of the rectus abdominis muscle. Subjects lost on average 3.9±3.1cm in the waist circumference. Most of the waist reduction effect was achieved after the fourth treatment. The width of abdominal separation decreased by 9.5% (-2.0±1.7mm). All results were highly significant (P<0.01) while weight change was insignificant (P<0.05). Digital photographs showed aesthetic improvement in most subjects. The treatments were painless and without adverse events. Conclusion: Results suggest that the investigated device is effective for abdominal body sculpting. This technology produced rectus muscle hypertrophy and a reduction in subcutaneous abdominal fat. Data suggests 4 treatments as the ideal protocol delivering 86% of the observed improvement. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(11):1098-1102.