Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) for Treating Androgenetic Alopecia: A Novel Treatment Protocol Standardized on 2 Cases

Abstract

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment has emerged in recent years as a valuable, effective, and affordable treatment for androgenetic alopecia. Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of alopecia, affecting both men and women, and is characterized by diminished hair follicles mainly pronounced in the frontal region and vertex. A considerable variety of PRP treatment regimens have been described so far, but there is no consensus on the standardization of PRP preparation or administration protocol. Our study was conducted on two patients to test the efficacy of a new PRP application protocol of only two treatments by using a combination of a PRP collecting device and a conventional kit. Efficacy of treatment was assessed after a 6-month follow-up by artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software on microscopic images of treated regions. An average number of hairs, cumulative hair thickness, and the number of follicular units increased in the vertex region of both patients by 30/59%, 35/53%, and 14/48%, respectively. The novel treatment regimen showed significant effectiveness in only six months.

Keywords: androgenetic alopecia; hair follicle; hair loss; platelet-rich plasma.

Figure 1

Results of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in patients with androgenetic alopecia: patient 1 and 2 before (A,C) and six months after (B,D) treatment.

Figure 2

Average number of hairs, Average hair shaft thickness, Thick hairs, Triple FU, Cumulative hair thickness, and Number (Nr) of follicles (F) increased in the vertex area of the first patient.

Figure 3

Average number of hairs, Triple FU, Cumulative hair thickness, and Number (Nr) of follicles (F) increased in the vertex area of the second patient.

Figure 4

Average number of hairs, Thick hairs, Double and Triple FU, and Number (Nr) of follicles (F) increased in the frontal area of the first patient.