Abstract
To investigate the safety and clinical efficacy of AA-PRP injections for pattern hair loss. AA-PRP, prepared from a small volume of blood, was injected on half of the selected patients' scalps with pattern hair loss. The other half was treated with placebo. Three treatments were given for each patient, with intervals of 1 month. The endpoints were hair re-growth, hair dystrophy as measured by dermoscopy, burning or itching sensation, and cell proliferation as measured by Ki-67 evaluation. At the end of the 3 cycles of treatment, the patients presented clinical improvement in the mean number of hairs, with a mean increase of 18.0 hairs in the target area, and a mean increase in total hair density of 27.7 ( number of hairs/cm2) compared with baseline values. Microscopic evaluation showed the increase of epidermis thickness and of the number of hair follicles two weeks after the last AA-PRP treatment compared to baseline value (P < 0.05). We also observed an increase of Ki67+ keratinocytes of epidermis and of hair follicular bulge cells and a slight increase of small blood vessels around hair follicles in the treated skin compared to baseline (P < 0.05).
Highlights
Proponents of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) technology suggest that its benefits include an increase in hard- and soft-tissue wound healing
Activated autologous PRP has been reported to induce the proliferation of dermal papilla cells by upregulating fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF-7) and bcatenin as well as extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)
Current strategies for the treatment of pattern hair loss are mainly focused on promoting cellular proliferation and differentiation during the hair growth cycle
Summary
Proponents of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) technology suggest that its benefits include an increase in hard- and soft-tissue wound healing. The role of PRP for the treatment of pattern hair loss has been demonstrated in recent reports [1,2,3,4]. Rinaldi described the use of PRP in alopecia areata (AA). This pilot study suggests that PRP may serve as a safe and effective treatment option in AA and calls for more extensive controlled studies with this method [4]. Uebel et al showed that pretreatment of follicular units with PRP before transplantation resulted in improved hair growth and density [3]. Activated autologous PRP has been reported to induce the proliferation of dermal papilla cells by upregulating fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF-7) and bcatenin as well as extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)
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