Dermoscopic pre- and posttreatment evaluation in patients with androgenetic alopecia on platelet-rich plasma-A prospective study.

Abstract

Platelet-rich plasma is rich in growth factors that promote differentiation and growth of dermal papilla cells by various signaling pathways. Dermoscopy is handy, bedside tool that helps to improve diagnostic accuracy in various hair disorders. To evaluate and study the role of dermoscopy in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) pre- and posttreatment with platelet-rich plasma (PRP). It is a prospective comparative study. Twenty male patients with AGA, aged 18-45years with modified Norwood-Hamilton classification grade II-VI were included in this study. Patients were given platelet-rich plasma injections every 3week for a period of 3months. Dermoscopy was performed with 10 x magnifications in polarized mode at baseline and at 3months from the baseline and photographs were taken. Patients were evaluated based on following dermoscopic findings (a) hair count, (b) hair density, (c) hair diameter diversity, perifollicular pigmentation, yellow dots, multi-hair follicular units, honeycomb pigment pattern and white dots, (d) patient's hair growth assessment score. Posttherapy, patients showed significant improvement in hair count (27.4%), hair diversity (84.2%), increase in number of thick, terminals hairs, reduction in yellow dots (60%), perifollicular pigmentation (92.3%) was appreciated. Hair pull test negative after treatment in 10 patients (50%). Patient's hair growth assessment score showed 50%-75% improvement in 7 (35%) patients. Dermoscopy helps to easily evaluate and compare the therapeutic response pre- and posttreatment which can be easily documented and visualized at every visit.