Histopathological and ultra-structural characterization of local neuromuscular damage induced by repeated phosphatidylcholine/deoxycholate injection

Abstract

Phosphatidylcholine/deoxycholate (PC/DC) combination is frequently used for injection lipolysis in body contouring and size reduction of subcutaneous lipomas. Nonetheless, studies that assess possible injurious effects of PC/DC combination on tissues at injection sites are inadequate. The current work attempts to evaluate the effects of repeated PC/DC injection on skeletal muscles and neural tissues at the injection site. For this purpose, female Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 2 groups, 10 rats each, and injected percutaneously via either normal saline (control group) or PC/DC (treated group) in the groin area for 4 consecutive days. Biopsies were harvested on the 4(th) day for histopathological studies. The results of the present work demonstrated that repeated injection of PC/DC caused neural damage and intense inflammation at the injection site leading to skeletal muscle degeneration, necrosis and fibrosis. Electron microscopic examination of the neural tissues in the injected area showed intra-neural fibroblasts, deposition of intra-neural collagen fibers and marked myelin degeneration. In addition, PC/DC injection caused thickening of intra-neural blood vessel walls and evident endo-neural mast cells. The current data highlight the attendant risk of neuromuscular injury associated with repeated PC/DC injection during the treatment of undesirable fat deposits and lipomas.

Keywords: Deoxycholate; Injection lipolysis; Myelin degeneration; Nerve; Phosphatidylcholine; Skeletal muscle.