Facial fat restoration

#1

Hi

I lost a lot of subcutaneous fat throughout my body due to an illness. I’m looking to try and restore some of the facial fat I lost using pioglitazone.

I want to create a solution and microneedle it at 0.5mm.

I have seen that it dissolves at 23mg/ml in oleic acid. So I was planning to crush some 15mg pioglitazone tablets and mix it with some almond oil or moringa oil.

If I have a 30ml of oil does anyone know how many 15mg pills I would need to make this to a reasonable strength that it might work? Also would DMSO be ok to mix it with and micro needle?

#2

And you want to inject that into your face subcutaneously?

#3

Not subcutaneous injection. Using a microneedling device only going 0.5mm deep.

#4

Missed that part. Thanks. How will you make sure that it’s sterile?

#5

I guess it will as sterile as all the other serums you can buy and use with micro needling. As the depth is only 0.5mm it should be ok and I will probably test it on the back of my hands first.

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#6

Wait a second…l you lost facial fat because of your use of the anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone, and now you’re thinking of injecting pioglitazone into your face? I can’t understand the logic of this? Can you please explain your thinking? Why do you even think that this would be a helpful thing to do? Have you seen any research supporting this strategy?

#7

FWIW …

“How do you dissolve pioglitazone?”

“For maximum solubility in aqueous buffers, pioglitazone (hydrochloride) should first be dissolved in DMSO and then diluted with the aqueous buffer of choice.”

Above from;

22263.pdf (183.1 KB)

#8

No I said in my original post that I lost facial fat due to illness.

With pioglitazone being a potent PPAR gamma agonist theoretically it could increase subcutaneous fat in the face. This is going to be an experiment but it is used orally for this purpose.

#9

I would have taken it orally first to see whether a redistribution of body fat, from ectopic and visceral areas to subcutaneous adipose depots works in your case. There should be some accompanying weight gain, too. That said it would be interesting to see if microneedling Pioglitazone at 0.5mm does anything besides benefits of the microneedling itself. Do you mind sharing your experiment results and perhaps before and after pics too?

#10

An alternative that you might at lease wish to consider is Sculptra. This is a cosmetic injectable that stimulates the deep layers of your skin to create more collagen. That it works was originally demonstrated among AIDS patients who had extreme facial wasting. When injected by an experienced providor (cosmetic plastic surgeon or aesthetician, preferably using a cannula rather than a syringe) it works well and lasts up to a couple of years. Have had it done a few times myself and my experience has been good.
Another option is autologous fat transfer, which has the potential for greater volume and longevity, but is more unpredictable (as there is resorption), and requires a bigger medical procedure and more expense.

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#11

Another quick search using an AI engine;

Pioglitazone dmso

“According to the search results, pioglitazone hydrochloride (Actos) is soluble in DMSO with a concentration of 79 mg/mL. This information is provided by LKT Labs, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products.”

Additional Information

“Pioglitazone is a thiazolidinedione that acts as an agonist at PPARα/γ receptors and also binds mitoNEET, a mitochondrial protein involved in energy homeostasis. It exhibits anti-diabetic, antacid, antidepressant, antinociceptive, and anti-diarrheal activities.”

“In some formulations, pioglitazone is dissolved in DMSO as a master liquid, which is then mixed with other solvents such as PEG300, Tween 80, and ddH2O or Corn oil to create an in vivo formulation.”

Inhibition of Enzymes

“Pioglitazone HCl (AD-4833, U-72107E) is also an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (CYP)2C8 and CYP3A4 enzymes, with Ki values of 1.7 μM and 11.8 μM, respectively.”

Autistic-Like Behaviors

“In a study, pioglitazone was administered daily to offspring that received prenatal LPS or saline injections, starting from postnatal day 21 until 29. The results showed that pioglitazone treatment increased play behavior, social interaction, and pinning in rats prenatally exposed to LPS, and reached levels similar to those of the control group.”

“In summary, pioglitazone is soluble in DMSO, and its solubility is important for its use in formulations and research applications. Additionally, pioglitazone has been shown to have various pharmacological activities and can be used to treat autistic-like behaviors in animal models”.

#12

A well regarded plastic surgeon looked at my face and agreed with you, Deborah. I went to the injector he recommended, and it is working really well even though I’ll need a few more weeks to get the full effect.

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#13

I had a conversation with top rated plastic surgeon some years ago. I found it interesting that he said most people wait too long to get facial plastic surgery. Another benefit in addition fat grafting is being able to do bone grafting at the time of surgery. Facial bone resorption and remodeling which changes one’s appearance dramatically is another great (not) feature of aging.

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#14

Waow that sounds all too unreliable, hygiene is very important when you go near skin wounds, you might not see it like that but microneedling is still creating tiny tiny wounds. I’d be careful crushing anything to mix with whatever oil and on my face. Microneedling is great for sure to stimulate collagen, but mixing pills seems so unsafe. Really! I’m glad you went with the sculptra advice done by a pro. Good for you!

#15

At 0.5 mm you won’t even reach the dermis of your skin in most areas of the face, much less the subcutaneous fat. You’ll be in the epidermis and definitely won’t grow fat there. In general, microneeding, even at depths of 3 mm or more, and even when combined with things like stem cells or exosomes, doesn’t improve facial volume at all. It’s good for improving texture, time, color, pores and fine lines but not volume.

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#16

Restoring lost fat in your face can really only be done with fat grafting. It might take a few sessions, but a skilled plastic surgeon can do wonders here.

#17

Well, today is a lot better product than Sculptra, there is a matrix for the fat to grow there, and is your own fat, Sculptra is your own collagen but in place what fat belongs so the appearance is not as natural.

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