Platelet rich plasma - more evidence of benefit

Platelet rich plasma - more evidence of benefit

Platelet rich plasma is increasingly be used in hair restoration  and in hair loss to give a "boost" to current therapies.  Data continues to emerge of benefit under certain circumstances. Many hair transplant surgeons and hair loss physicians in general have added it to their treatment plans for patients.

Today I'd like to tell you about a mouse study rather than a human trial. But it's an interesting study and points to benefit for PRP in this setting.

Researchers from China set out to study how PRP helps hair follicles develop.  To do this, they mixed up dermal papilla cells and epidermal cells in various concentrations of human PRP and placed these cells on the backs of mice (called nude mice) to try to induce hair follicles to grow. Although the dermal papilla cells in this study were from mice, the PRP was from humans.

What were the results of the PRP study?

The study showed that higher concentrations of PRP caused the hairs to form faster on the backs of these mice. Higher concentrations of PRP also caused a greater density of hair follicles to form. 

Comment

Specific models to study the role of PRP are important. This study shows that PRP is beneficial to the formation of hair follicles in this mouse model.  This experimental model could serve as a useful model in the future.

Reference

Miao Y et al. Promotional effect of platelet rich plasma on hair follicle reconstitution in vivo. Dermatologic Surgery 2013; 39: 1868-1876