You may be a candidate for treatment with PRP, an innovative new therapy which uses your body’s own natural growth factors to stimulate hair growth. For more information read the article below, and feel free to schedule a consultation in our office (215) 579-6155).
Platelet Rich Plasma for Hair Loss
According to estimates from the National Institutes of Health, androgenic alopecia affects 30 million women and 50 million men in the United States.1 Oral finasteride and topical minoxidil comprise the currently approved non-surgical therapies for this condition. However, finasteride has been linked to undesirable adverse effects and is not indicated for female patients, and the long-term required daily use of minoxidil can become burdensome.2
These limitations underscore the need for additional treatment options for androgenic alopecia. Emerging research suggests that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) — an “autologous solution of plasma prepared from a patient’s own blood…. containing 4 to 7 times the baseline concentration of human platelets” — may be effective for this purpose.3 Some providers are already offering PRP in clinical practice and its popularity as a hair restoration therapy is growing.2
“The secretory α-granules within platelets release various growth factors…. [that] …induce tissue regeneration, collagen formation, re-epithelialization, and angiogenesis,” according to a 2018 review of PRP research.4 The investigators reported positive results for PRP as a treatment for androgenic alopecia, as have several other reviews and meta-analyses.,6
A 2018 meta-analysis by Gupta, et al, focused on studies in which PRP was directly injected into the scalp of human patients and that used quantifiable measures of treatment success (in this case, hair density).2The final analysis, based on 4 studies with a pooled sample of 60 participants, revealed an overall standardized mean difference of 0.51 (95% CI, 0.14-0.88; I2 = 0%) in favor of PRP compared with baseline.
In another meta-analysis published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2018, the investigators examined 6 studies (pooled N=177) describing quantitative outcomes of PRP vs controls in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.7 Compared with the use of control treatments, PRP was associated with significant increases in hair number per cm2 (mean difference [MD], 17.90; 95% CI; 5.84-29.95; P =.004) and hair cross-section thickness per 10−4 mm2 (MD 0.22; 95% CI, 0.07-0.38; P =.005).
Across studies, PRP was linked to minimal adverse events and high patient satisfaction.2
Original article can be seen here
