Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 11.
doi: 10.1159/000546800. Online ahead of print.

Impact of Age on Response to Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy

Anna Brinks  1 , Deesha D Desai  1   2 , Caitlin A Kearney  1 , Carli Needle  1 , Nnaemeka Anyanwu  1 , Ambika Nohria  1 , Michelle Sikora  1   3 , Christina S Oh  1 , Jerry Shapiro  1 , Kristen I Lo Sicco  1
Affiliations

Impact of Age on Response to Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy

Anna Brinks et al. Skin Appendage Disord. .

Abstract

Introduction: Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a widely used treatment for androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the impact of patient age on treatment efficacy remains underexplored.

Method: This retrospective study evaluated PRP outcomes in 57 AGA patients treated at NYU Langone Health, stratified into four age cohorts. Changes in trichometric hair density and width were measured from initial to final follow-up visits. Statistical significance and linear regression testing were determined using ANOVA and Rank-Based ANCOVA, respectively.

Results: While overall changes in density and width did not differ significantly across age groups, younger patients trended toward greater density gains. Furthermore, greater baseline hair width was predictive of smaller improvements in width, and significant interactions between age and the number of PRP sessions suggested that older individuals may require a greater number of treatments to attain results comparable to those seen in younger cohorts. Additionally, improvements in hair density were positively associated with the number of adjunctive therapies, as patients who received more concurrent treatments experienced greater gains. PRP was well tolerated across all age groups.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the potential impact of patient age on PRP efficacy, informing counseling and treatment planning.

Keywords: Age; Alopecia; Hair loss; Platelet-rich plasma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Kristen I. Lo Sicco was a member of the journal’s editorial board at the time of submission. No other authors have relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

    1. Stevens J, Khetarpal S. Platelet-rich plasma for androgenetic alopecia: a review of the literature and proposed treatment protocol. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019;5(1):46–51. (In eng). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chowdhary K, Sahu A, Iijima H, Shinde S, Borg-Stein J, Ambrosio F. Aging affects the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma treatment for osteoarthritis. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2023;102(7):597–604. (In eng). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kaufman KD, Olsen EA, Whiting D, Savin R, DeVillez R, Bergfeld W, et al. Finasteride in the treatment of men with androgenetic alopecia. Finasteride male pattern hair loss study group. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1998;39(4 Pt 1):578–89. - PubMed
    1. Burns LJ, De Souza B, Flynn E, Hagigeorges D, Senna MM. Spironolactone for treatment of female pattern hair loss. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;83(1):276–8. - PubMed
    1. Randolph M, Tosti A. Oral minoxidil treatment for hair loss: a review of efficacy and safety. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021;84(3):737–46. - PubMed