Santosh Reddy Mandadi1, Krishna Rajesh Kilaru2, Venkateswara Rao G.3
BACKGROUND
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a genetically determined disorder characterized by
the gradual conversion of terminal hairs into indeterminate, and finally into vellus
hairs. It is the most common cause of hair loss affecting more men and
occasionally women. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is one of the newer
treatment options and has shown promising results. We wanted to evaluate the
safety and efficacy of PRP in the treatment of AGA.
METHODS
A prospective cohort study was done on thirty patients of AGA. The stage of
alopecia was evaluated according to the Hamilton-Norwood scale (males) and the
Ludwig scale (females). All patients were treated with six intradermal PRP sittings
with an interval of 4 weeks between each sitting and were evaluated at the end
of 6 months using global photography, hair pull test, patient’s satisfaction rating
and hair density.
RESULTS
Out of 30 patients, majority were in the age group of 21 - 25 years (40 %). 23
were males and 7 were females. Among male patients, maximum number of
patients (39.13 %) were having grade 4 AGA followed by grade 3 (30.43 %).
Among females, maximum number of patients (57.14 %) were having grade 1
AGA. At baseline, 66.67 % patients showed positive hair pull test whereas all
patients showed negative hair pull test at the end of study. Baseline mean hair
density was 78.96 ± 9.66 hairs / cm2 and at the end of study it was 105. 46 ±
9.21 hairs / cm2. On an analogue scale ranging from 0 to 10, the overall mean
change in the clinical rating of patient satisfaction was 6.83, which denoted
satisfactory for most patients.
CONCLUSIONS
All patients treated with PRP showed increase in hair density in dermoscopic
photomicrographs at the end of the study. PRP is a simple, effective and safe
treatment for AGA.
