ACNE, cellulite and excess fat zapped with the flick of a switch? It may sound like the sci-fi dream of teenagers and the middle-aged, but scientists have developed a laser technique that can target and melt fat under the skin.

A team of researchers have used a machine called a free-electron laser (FEL), which can produce very specific beams, to heat and break down fat without damaging other body tissue.

The breakthrough paves the way for laser use on various fat-related conditions, including lipid build-up linked to arterial heart disease, cellulite and acne.

Rox Anderson, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, led the experiment using pig fat and skin samples about 2in (5cm) thick. He said that the results were proof of the principle for heating tissue with light.

The success of the study, which was conducted at a unit of the US Department of Energy, could herald a precision laser treatment for acne within years.

The condition, as with cellulite, has confounded most efforts to combat it. Questions remain over the current most effective acne drug, isotretinoin (known as Accutane), which has been linked to birth defects in children whose mothers used it while pregnant.

Cellulite — deposits of subcutaneous fat and fibrous tissue that cause a dimpling effect on the overlying skin — and other surface body fat could be targeted, as well as the fatty plaques that form in arteries, leading to heart attacks, Dr Anderson said. “We can envision a fat-seeking laser, and we’re heading down that path now.”

Using the FEL, which is much more powerful than a conventional laser, the scientists were able to choose selected laser wavelengths that could heat up the fat, which was then broken down and excreted by the body.

They found that the process, called selective photothermolysis, did not affect the area of skin that was exposed to the beam.

Dr Anderson added that he was particularly excited by the technique’s potential as a treatment for severe acne. He said that researchers wanted to see if sebaceous glands could be directly targeted with a particular laser wavelength, isolating the source of spots.

The sebaceous glands secrete a fatty substance called sebum through the hair follicles, which lubricates and protects the skin. However, excess sebum can collect and form deposits, which are associated with acne.

The results of Dr Anderson’s study, which also involved researchers from Harvard Medical School, were presented yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the first part of the study the team used human fat obtained from surgically discarded, normal tissue. The tissue was exposed to a range of wavelengths of infra-red laser light (from 800 to 2,600 nanometres) using the FEL, and the effects were recorded.

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