An experimental injection called CBL-514 reduced visceral fat in early human trials, offering a potential new approach to fat deposits that surround internal organs. The findings come from MRI scans collected during two phase 2 trials.

Visceral fat sits deep inside the abdomen and wraps around internal organs. Unlike fat located directly beneath the skin, it affects metabolism, influences insulin resistance and can play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

The potential health consequences reach beyond diabetes. Research published in March by the American Heart Association found that visceral fat had a stronger association with heart failure risk than body mass index, commonly known as BMI.

The CBL-514 trials examined whether injections could diminish these deeper abdominal fat deposits. The research was conducted by Dr. W. Timothy Garvey of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Yu-Fang Ling of Caliway Biopharmaceuticals in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Previous phase 2 trials had already shown that CBL-514 could reduce subcutaneous fat. That is the layer of fat found directly beneath the skin, rather than the deeper visceral fat surrounding organs.

MRI scans from two phase 2 trials revealed a sharp contrast between participants who received CBL-514 and those given a placebo. Visceral fat decreased among people treated with the experimental injection, while it increased among placebo recipients.

Participants receiving CBL-514 were given injections in the lower abdomen every three weeks for as long as 12 weeks. The administered doses reached as high as 600 milligrams.

The number of injections was determined by the thickness of each participant’s abdominal fat. As the volume of the fat layer declined during treatment, the number of injections also decreased.

CBL-514 works by selectively triggering apoptosis in fat cells. Apoptosis is a process that causes cells to destroy themselves, and the experimental injection targeted fat cells while leaving nearby cells unharmed.

Four weeks after the final treatment, the average volume of visceral fat had fallen by 12.01% in the group receiving CBL-514, according to a report by SciTechDaily. In the placebo group, visceral fat increased by an average of 5.68%.

Those figures produced a notable divide between the treated and placebo groups. While the experimental injection was associated with a reduction in the dangerous abdominal fat, participants receiving the placebo experienced an increase.

Garvey acknowledged that the potential cosmetic effects could be attractive to patients. Reducing subcutaneous fat could produce a flatter stomach, giving the treatment a visible result in addition to its possible effects on deeper fat.

The health implications, however, could be more important than the cosmetic changes. Garvey noted the decrease in body weight, improved blood pressure and cholesterol, and loss of visceral fat that the injection can cause because each of those factors affects overall health.

The findings also distinguish CBL-514 from liposuction, a commonly performed surgical cosmetic procedure. Liposuction cannot remove visceral fat and therefore cannot reduce the health risks associated with carrying high amounts of fat around the internal organs.

The results remain early human evidence for an experimental injection, but the MRI findings showed reductions in a type of fat tied to significant metabolic and cardiovascular concerns. The trials also built upon earlier evidence that CBL-514 can reduce fat stored beneath the skin.