Platelet-rich plasma injections safe, effective for female androgenetic alopecia

Injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with the Eclipse system confer a beneficial effect to women with androgenetic alopecia (AGA), with no serious adverse effects, a recent study has shown.

“PRP may be a useful treatment for AGA, although objective studies are needed,” the investigators said.

To determine whether PRP injections could improve female AGA, a prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. Thirty women diagnosed with AGA participated in this study and received subdermal scalp injections of Eclipse system PRP or placebo saline at weeks 0, 4, and 8.

Outcome measures were changes in hair density (hair/cm²), hair calibre (mm), and blinded global photographic assessment (improved or not improved) at week 24.

In blinded global photographic assessment, 57 percent of patients on PRP, compared to 7 percent of those receiving saline, showed improvement at week 24 from baseline (p<0.01). Mean density in the PRP group compared to the placebo group also improved at week 8 (71.1 vs –26.7 hairs/cm²; p<0.01) and week 24 (105.9 vs –52.4 hairs/cm²; p<0.01) relative to baseline. An improvement was also noted in mean calibre in the PRP group compared to the placebo group at week 8 (0.0043 vs –0.0034 mm; p<0.01) and week 24 (0.0053 vs –0.0060 mm; p<0.01) relative to baseline.

Of note, the following adverse effects were observed: headache, swelling, redness, scalp tightness, and postinjection bleeding. Two patients were lost to follow-up, according to the investigators.