Table 2.

A summary of studies evaluating the effect of topical aminophylline in local fat reduction.

Author, year	Topical formulation	Administration	Other interventions	Results	Adverse effects
Artz and Dinner (17)	2% aminophylline	Twice a day for 12 weeks	• Patients avoided any medications affecting theophylline serum levels.	The thigh circumference was decreased an average of 0.5 cm, but with no weight reduction.	• Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL did not show any significant changes after three months. • Aminophylline serum levels did not raise.
Greenway et al. (18) (Trial 2)	1.2×10-5 M forskolin + 2.5×10-4 M yohimbine + 1.3×10-2 M aminophylline	Five times a week for four weeks	• 600 kcal/day diet • Patients were encouraged to follow a walking program • To increase transcutaneous absorption, the thighs were wrapped in warm 600 to 900 mOsm/L magnesium sulphate solutions for 30 minutes before each of the ointment applications. • An occlusive plastic wrap was placed over the area to which the ointment was applied throughout the 4-week study period.	All participants lost more girth on the treated thigh than the control thigh with a mean ± SEM difference of 2.03 ± 1.36 cm (p<0.05)	• One of the ladies who participated in this study, which was carried out in the summer, experienced a heat rash under the occlusive plastic wrap on both legs that went away after the plastic wrap was removed.
Greenway et al. (18) (Trial 3-3)	1.3×10-2 M aminophylline	Five times a week for four weeks	• 800 kcal/day diet • Patients were encouraged to follow a walking program • To increase transcutaneous absorption, the thighs were wrapped in warm 600 to 900 mOsm/L magnesium sulphate solutions for 30 minutes before each of the ointment applications.	All participants lost more girth on the treated thigh than the control thigh with a mean ± SEM difference of 1.5 ± 0.77 cm (p<0.02)	• There were no rashes or other adverse events. • There were no changes in blood pressure or pulse
Greenway et al. (18) (Trial 4)	10% aminophylline	Five times a week for six weeks	• 900 to 1,100 kcal/day diet • No specific exercise	Thigh girth loss was greater in the treated than in the control thigh at the end of the study with a mean ± SEM difference of 0.77 ± 0.66 cm for the lower girth and 0.78 ± 0.89 cm for the upper girth (p<0.001)	• No significant changes were seen in the chemistry results. • No theophylline could be detected at any time point. • Patch testing showed no allergy. • There were no significant changes in pulse rate or blood pressure.
Greenway et al. (18) (Trial 5)	2% aminophylline	Five times a week for six weeks	• No specific diet • No specific exercise	Participants lost more girth from the treated than from the control thigh with a mean ± SEM difference of 1.21 ± 0.31 cm (p<0.01)	• There was no skin irritation with patch testing. • Three weeks after the start of the study, one woman developed a rash on the leg being treated with active cream. The cream was stopped and the rash resolved • Theophylline levels were undetectable
Greenway et al. (18) (Trial 6)	0.5% aminophylline	Five times a week for five weeks	• No specific diet • No specific exercise	All 12 participants lost more girth on the treated thigh than the control thigh at 5 weeks of treatment with a mean ± SEM difference of 3.08 ± 0.27 cm (p<0.0011)	• The chemistry panel showed significant decreases in ALT, LDH, globulin and creatinine, but these were felt to be clinically insignificant since the changes were within the normal range for the test. • There were no rashes. • Patch testing was negative. • Theophylline levels were below the detectable threshold.
Collis et al. (25)	2% aminophylline	Twice a day for 12 weeks	• Patients were instructed to maintain their lifestyle	There was no significant difference (p=0.4 to 0.9) in the fat depth and thigh girth between treatment and control groups.	• Nine out of 35 patients developed a dermatologic reaction.
Caruso et al., (26)	0.5% aminophylline	Twice a day for 12 weeks	• 1200 kcal/day diet • Patients were encouraged to follow a walking program	The reduction in waist circumference was 11 ± 1.0 cm in the aminophylline cream group and 5.0 ± 0.6 cm in the control group (p < 0.001).	• All monthly aminophylline levels were undetectable. • There were no adverse events • There were no allergic reactions to the cream. • Blood pressure and pulse remained in the normal range throughout the study.
Escalante et al. (27)	Aminophylline, caffeine, yohimbe, l‐carnitine, and gotu kola	Twice a day for four weeks	• 1520 ± 321 kcal/day diet • Patients were encouraged to follow a walking program	Reduction in thigh circumference was 1.2 cm compared to 0.8 cm in control groups.	–