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Review
. 2020 May 1:2020:3542848.
doi: 10.1155/2020/3542848. eCollection 2020.

Mesotherapy: From Historical Notes to Scientific Evidence and Future Prospects

Massimo Mammucari  1 , Enrica Maggiori  1 , Domenico Russo  2 , Chiara Giorgio  3 , Gianpaolo Ronconi  4 , Paola E Ferrara  4 , Flora Canzona  5 , Luciano Antonaci  1 , Bartolomeo Violo  6 , Renato Vellucci  7 , Domenico Rocco Mediati  7 , Alberto Migliore  8 , Umberto Massafra  8 , Barbara Bifarini  9 , Fabio Gori  9 , Massimo di Carlo  10 , Stefano Brauneis  11 , Teresa Paolucci  12 , Piergiovanni Rocchi  13 , Anna Cuguttu  13 , Raffaele Di Marzo  13 , Alessandro Bomprezzi  13 , Stefania Santini  13 , Manuela Giardini  13 , Anna Rosa Catizzone  13 , Fiammetta Troili  13 , Dario Dorato  13 , Alessandra Gallo  13 , Costanza Guglielmo  13 , Silvia Natoli  14
Affiliations
Review

Mesotherapy: From Historical Notes to Scientific Evidence and Future Prospects

Massimo Mammucari et al. ScientificWorldJournal. .

Abstract

Intradermal therapy, known as mesotherapy, is a technique used to inject a drug into the surface layer of the skin. In particular, it involves the use of a short needle to deposit the drug in the dermis. The intradermal microdeposit modulates the drug's kinetics, slowing absorption and prolonging the local mechanism of action. It is successfully applied in the treatment of some forms of localized pain syndromes and other local clinical conditions. It could be suggested when a systemic drug-sparing effect is useful, when other therapies have failed (or cannot be used), and when it can synergize with other pharmacological or nonpharmacological therapies. Despite the lack of randomized clinical trials in some fields of application, a general consensus is also reached in nonpharmacological mechanism of action, the technique execution modalities, the scientific rationale to apply it in some indications, and the usefulness of the informed consent. The Italian Mesotherapy Society proposes this position paper to apply intradermal therapy based on scientific evidence and no longer on personal bias.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
AB represents the needle with a length of 4 mm. AB inserted with an inclination of 30° constitutes one side of an equilateral triangle (ABC). AB = 4 mm; BD = 2 mm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The technique: 30° inclination before the injection (a); the needle enters the dermis (b); liquid inserted superficially into the dermis—the whitening area shows the wheal (c).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Some areas that can be treated: shoulder (a); cervical spine (b); lumbar spine (c); knee (d). The lines indicate the areas where to inoculate. The red and blue lines suggest two different inoculation pathways when different drugs are needed.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Possible mechanism of action. The drug (liquid) injected could stimulate the dermis and trigger a series of local and systemic reactions that participate in the control of pain. The dermis could contribute to the analgesic effect through a mediated mesodermal modulation of the intradermal glial cell system.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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