Is Viagra the next cellulite treatment?

Every year or so the next great cure for cellulite appears. First it was creams, then Endermologie, then mesotherapy, then lasers with Endermologie-like roller massage, every permutation that biomedical engineers could think of to beat cottage cheese thighs into submission. Thermage has a cellulite tip, which works well but not for everyone. (http://www.baxterplasticsurgery.com/thermage.html) So a definitive treatment remains elusive.


It’s not for lack of trying. Since estimates of the number of women affected are in the 80-90 percent range, it is an enormous problem and women the world over are clamoring for a solution. But before I introduce the latest idea, we should look at why cellulite is such an intractable problem. To begin with, no one can say definitively what it is. That isn’t to say that we don’t see differences between the skin and fat in women with cellulite and men, or unaffected women; we just don’t know what causes those changes. The skin is thinner, and fat compartments tend to bulge into the skin, causing the characteristic upholstery-like dimples. Poor circulation seems to be an issue, and approaches to cellulite treatments often target this with methods to increase blood flow (back to roller massage.)
So someone (actually four doctors from Croatia) noted that Viagra is also a vasodilator, and proposed a theory in the journal Medical Hypotheses last summer. To be fair, note that the journal is for hypotheses, not proven theories or clinical trials, but it is provocative nonetheless. Sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra, was found to not only increase circulation in the skin (which may or may not be helpful), but it also activated enzymes that help break down fat cells in tissue culture. There’s actually some serious science behind this class of drugs and it may very well turn out to be helpful for cellulite. If so, I can hardly wait to see the marketing campaign.