Treatment of Male-Pattern Alopecia with Platelet-Rich Plasma

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) affects up to 80% of men and 50% of women throughout their lifetime, causing significant discomfort. Minoxidil, finasteride, and low-level laser light therapy are the only Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for AGA, and they have shown positive results in randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. However, their efficacy is limited, and new therapies are needed. Injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a minimally invasive technique, has been described by several authors as a promising treatment for AGA. Although many studies report beneficial effects of PRP on AGA, there is no standardized practice for PRP preparation and administration or a standard method to evaluate results. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of manually prepared PRP in the treatment of male AGA. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> We treated 20 male patients with AGA with 3 monthly injections of PRP and analyzed results by TrichoScan®. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In this study, there was no statistically significant improvement in hair count or proportion of anagen hairs. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This lack of response could be related to any of the variables during PRP preparation described above and also to the limited number of patients in the study.

Platelet‐rich plasma for androgenetic alopecia: Efficacy differences between men and women

“…There were two studies in male populations not included in our meta-analyses due to insufficient data. Both studies found that PRP did not significantly affect hair growth parameters 29,30 (Table 2).…”

“…Whether PRP is effective for treating AGA in women is less clear, with some studies reporting a beneficial effect, 18‐25 while others report that PRP is not as effective or not effective at all for women 26‐28 . Furthermore, some studies have also reported that PRP is not effective for AGA in men 29‐32 . Thus, the effectiveness of PRP for AGA in both genders remains unclear.…”

“…[26][27][28] Furthermore, some studies have also reported that PRP is not effective for AGA in men. [29][30][31][32] Thus, the effectiveness of PRP for AGA in both genders remains unclear.…”

Systematic Review of Platelet-Rich Plasma Use in Androgenetic Alopecia Compared with Minoxidil®, Finasteride®, and Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy

“…Rodrigues et al [29] reported recently (March 2019) the most important (for the journal's impact factor, actually J Am Acad Dermatol 7,01 IF) double-blind controlled study, including platelet number and growth factor level analysis of the effect of PRP in AGA.…”

“…Regarding the number of sessions performed, different protocols have been proposed. Rodrigues et al [29] reported four subcutaneous injections of PRP. Hausauer et al [30] described, in a prospective randomized single-blinded trial conducted on 40 moderate AGA patients, two different protocols based on sub-dermal PRP injections: Protocol 1, in which three monthly sessions with a booster 3 months later were performed or protocol 2 in which sessions every 3 months were done.…”