PRP for Alopecia Areata

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a new type of treatment used in regenerative plastic surgery and dermatology.

PRP is a simple, cost-effective, and doable way to treat hair loss, and most patients are happy with it. It can be used to treat androgenic alopecia and other types of hair loss that don’t leave scars.

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata (AA) is a type of hair loss that doesn’t leave scars. It is caused by an autoimmune process that attacks the hair follicles. The parts of the skin that produce hair are called hair follicles.

The lifetime risk of AA is about 2%, and there is no difference in risk between men and women. Although alopecia areata can affect any part of the body, the head and face are most frequently affected.

AA is hard to treat, and hair loss may stop on its own, but it may take months or even years for hair to grow back on its own.

About PRP

PRP was brought into the medical field as a possible way to stop bleeding during surgery and treat wounds that don’t heal.

After that, PRP became popular in other fields, such as plastic surgery, orthopedics, and maxillofacial surgery, where it was used to help heal wounds and repair damaged tissue.

Dermatology has recently come up with new uses for PRP, such as scar revision, skin rejuvenation, and wound healing.

PRP has also been used to regrow hair in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata (AA) and to increase the survival rate of grafts in hair transplantation.

How PRP Works

PRP is a new technology that uses a preparation of the patient’s own plasma with a high concentration of platelets to make hair grow faster. PRP is made up of several growth factors and cytokines that help repair and grow hair follicles. More specifically, PRP is made up of more than 20 growth factors that are released by a large number of platelets. These growth factors bind to the receptors that are made by stem cells in the bulge of the hair follicle and in the tissues around it.

Recent research shows that PRP may help with wound healing, blood vessel growth, cell differentiation, and the growth of adipose precursor cells. The research shows that PRP works as an add-on treatment for alopecias that don’t leave scars.

Platelet-rich plasma is a product made from the patient’s own blood. The patient’s blood is taken, centrifuged to separate the platelets from other components of the blood, and then injected into balding areas of the scalp. This process contains growth factors and cytokines which stimulate hair follicles to regenerate hair.

PRP is Safe and Effective

Studies have shown that platelet-rich plasma therapy is safe, and effective and improves the quality of life of patients with alopecia areata.

A review of the literature on platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for alopecia areata was performed by researchers to determine its safety, efficacy, and quality-of-life improvements among patients.

Trink et al. (2013) did a randomized, double-blind, placebo and active-controlled, half-head parallel-group study on AA to find out how well PRP works and if it is safe.

The study’s results showed that both intralesional TAC and PRP caused more hair to grow back in AA lesions than placebo or baseline.

Side Effects Are Minimal

The PRP procedure is usually effective and safe, with only a few side effects, such as temporary and manageable pain during treatment, mild headaches that may go away with acetaminophen, mild itching, temporary redness and swelling, and scaling.

Side effects of PRP for hair loss are not life-threatening or serious enough to require immediate medical attention if they occur while you’re receiving treatment with PRP at our office or at home under your own supervision using a kit purchased online

Key Takeaways

To summarize, platelet-rich plasma therapy is a safe and effective treatment for alopecia areata. There is some evidence that PRP could be used to treat AA.

Two dermatological clinics operated by Team Dermatology are conveniently placed in Texas, one in Houston and the other in Sugar Land. The board-certified dermatologists at Team Dermatology are devoted to giving their patients the best possible medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology care, especially for your hair growth needs.

The desire to assist each patient in enhancing the health and beauty of their skin drives our specialists. Contact us today to learn more about PRP!

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TEAM Dermatology advises you of the departure of Dr. Kuda Maloney from our Memorial and Sugar Land locations in November of  2023.  Dr. Maloney will be pursuing interests outside of private practice and we wish her the best in achievement of her future endeavors. Please contact our office to arrange for your care with another provider in our offices.