PRP For Thinning Hair & Pattern Hair Loss

Hair loss has a significant influence on psychological distress and is associated with low self-esteem and depression. Current strategies for the treatment of pattern hair loss are mainly focused on promoting cellular proliferation and differentiation during the hair growth cycle. It has been postulated that minoxidil prolongs anagen and increases hair follicle size through stimulation of potassium channels and prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-1, which increase level of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Minoxidil promotes the survival of dermal papilla cells by increasing Bcl-2/Bax ratio and by activating ERK and Akt. Oral finasteride also induces the prolongation of anagen hairs, which results in gradual thickening and elongation of the hairs. In addition, finasteride has been shown to reduce the pattern hair loss associated with increased expression of caspases and apoptosis inhibitors and therefore it is ultimately suggested to activate anagen hair growth.

According to research antiapoptotic effects of activated PRP have been suggested as one of the major contributing factors stimulating hair growth. PRP-induced activation of antiapoptotic regulators, such as the Bcl-2 protein and Akt signalling, prolongs the survival of dermal papilla cells during the hair cycle. In addition, the upregulation of FGF-7/b-catenin signalling pathways with PRP treatment is suggested to stimulate hair growth by inducing follicular stem cell differentiation as well as prolonging the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle.

Kang et al. in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology back in January 2014 have reported the clinical efficacy of injection of CD34+ cell-containing PRP preparation for pattern hair loss. In this study, at three months after the first treatment, the patients presented clinical improvement in the mean number of hairs, 20.5 ± 17.0%, mean hair thickness, 31.3 ± 30.1%, and mean two-point score, 84.4 ± 51.7%, compared with baseline values. At 6 months, the patients presented clinical improvement in mean hair count, 29.2 ± 17.8%, mean hair thickness, 46.4 ± 37.5%, and mean two-point score, 121.3 ± 66.8%, compared with baseline.

In recent study published in May of 2014 in the BioMed Research International the effect of Autologous Activated Platelet Rich Plasma (AA-PRP) injection on pattern hair loss was studied by Cervelli et. al. with clinical and histomorphometric evaluation. AA-PRP was prepared from a small volume of blood (18 cc) according to the method of Cascade-Selphyl-Esforax system. The authors suggested that a sufficient number of platelets could be obtained in all patients by using an automated PRP preparation system. Giusti et al. demonstrated that the optimal platelet concentration for the induction of angiogenesis in human endothelial cells was 1,500,000 platelets/μL, whereas excessively high concentrations of platelets were suggested to decrease the angiogenic potential. In this study, a mean 1,484,555.6 platelets/μL in the PRP preparation could effectively stimulate follicular and perifollicular angiogenesis, which is suggested to be one of the major factors in active hair growth. This data suggest that the injection of AA-PRP preparations has a positive therapeutic effect on male and pattern hair loss without major side effects.