Dermatologists shed light on treatments for cellulite.(Brief Article)

2002 SEP 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology's summer scientific meeting in New York, dermatologist Mitchel Goldman, MD, associate clinical professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of California at San Diego, discussed four types of cellulite treatments - creams, mechanical massage, diet, and exercise - and whether any are effective at reducing the appearance of cellulite.

Cellulite is the body's natural way of storing fat in postadolescent women to ensure that the body has enough calories available for pregnancy and lactation. Almost all women who are not severely malnourished have cellulite. Men, on the other hand, do not have cellulite unless feminization occurs by excessive estrogen production and decreased testosterone production.

Typically, fat storage in women occurs in the buttocks and thighs due to estrogen production but can also occur in the inner knees, hips, lower abdomen and under the arms.

"To determine how much cellulite you have, all you need to do is pinch the skin of your thigh between both hands and it appears as a dimpling of the pinched skin," explained Goldman. "In very thin women, cellulite is only visible with pinching. But for the average woman, some degree of cellulite is visible without pinching and that can make her self conscious about wearing certain clothing in public such as shorts or a swimsuit."

In women, the presence of fibrous membranes between masses of soft tissue work to sequester fat into discrete pockets. These bands of connective tissue are oriented vertically and are anchored from the dermis to the deep layers of connective tissue that separate muscle from various structures and organs of the body. This structure allows the skin surface to dimple and become irregular with expansion of the fat chamber.

Creams

Since the first report in 1987 of the ability of topical creams to decrease cellulite, dozens of companies are now marketing cellulite-reducing thigh creams. Currently, no controlled studies have been conducted to test the effectiveness of individual ingredients in cellulite creams. When several of these ingredients are combined in one cream, it is nearly impossible to determine which individual ingredient is ...