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. 2018 May 15;9(1):141.
doi: 10.1186/s13287-018-0889-y.

Cellular therapy with human autologous adipose-derived adult cells of stromal vascular fraction for alopecia areata

Rami Anderi  1   2 , Nehman Makdissy  3 , Albert Azar  4 , Francine Rizk  5 , Aline Hamade  5
Affiliations

Cellular therapy with human autologous adipose-derived adult cells of stromal vascular fraction for alopecia areata

Rami Anderi et al. Stem Cell Res Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Most common forms of hair loss (alopecia) are caused by aberrant hair follicle cycling and changes in hair follicle morphology. However, current treatments for alopecia do not specifically target these processes. Adipose-derived stromal vascular cells (ADSVCs) that can be harvested from fat cells are one of the latest breakthroughs in the aesthetic field. The potential use of stem cell-based therapies (SCBT) for the repair and regeneration of various tissues and organs offers a paradigm shift that may provide alternative therapeutic solutions, which can be applied to prevent hair loss. This study aimed to present clinical cases of SCBT for the treatment of alopecia areata by transplantation of ADSVCs in the scalp.

Methods: Twenty patients (9 women and 11 men) were recruited to our retrospectively registered study. After lipoaspiration, autologous ADSVCs were generated and characterized before the injection of 4-4.7 × 106 cells into the scalp of the patient. Hair regeneration was assessed by three clinical tests: the pull test, hair quality, and hair density.

Results: All patients experienced hair regeneration, increased hair growth and decreased pull test 3 and 6 months after the treatment with ADSVCs [hair density (85.1 ± 8.7 vs 121.1 ± 12.5 hair/cm2, P < 0.0001), hair diameter (60.5 ± 1.8 vs 80.8 ± 2.4μ, P < 0.0001) and pull-test values (4.4 ± 0.3 vs 0.8 ± 0.2, P < 0.0001), untreated versus 6 months post-operative)]. Significant variation was observed between men and women only for hair diameter. No significant differences were observed with age.

Conclusions: The obtained results prove the efficacy and the safety of the treatment, and satisfaction of the patients confirm the quality of the results.

Keywords: Adipose-derived stromal vascular cells; Alopecia; Baldness; Hair fall treatment; Hair loss; Mesenchymal stem cell; Stem cell.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted in strict adherence to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki, and it was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03427905). The protocol was approved by the institutional review board of REVIVA Regenerative Medicine Center at the Middle East Institute of Health University Hospital as previously [27, 28] under the academic regulations of the public institution, the Lebanese University. All patients provided written informed consent and fresh samples were procured by Dr. Rami Andari (plastic surgeon) from REVIVA at the Middle East Institute of Health (MEIH) University Hospital. The first patient was enrolled in March 2013.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests related to this study.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Difference in hair diameter between patients before and 3 or 6 months after ADSVCs transplantation. a Whole population. b Variation between male and female. ***P < 0.0001
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Difference in hair density between patients before and 3 or 6 months after ADSVCs transplantation. a Whole population. b Variation between male and female. ***P < 0.0001; ns, non-significant
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of pull test results before and after 3 months and 6 months after ADSVCs transplantation. a Whole population. b Variation between male and female. ***P < 0.0001; ns, non-significant
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Photographs documenting the increase in hair counts after adipose-derived stem cell therapy. Representative images of the scalp before (a-c) and 6 months after ADSVCs transplantation (b-d)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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