Background: This study was performed to describe clinical profile of patients with androgenic alopecia and investigate the efficacy of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in androgenic alopecia.
Methods: In this prospective study, adult patients in stage III-VI androgenic alopecia were enrolled. Their clinical profile, i.e., age, duration of alopecia, history of previous treatment, family history of alopecia, pattern of alopecia, grade of alopecia, and hair pull test were noted. The enrolled patients were treated with PRP once a month for 3 months and evaluated with clinical photographs. Hair density and hair thickness were measured using USB portable digital trichoscope and digital computerized trichoscan analysis. Clinical evaluation was performed using a 4-point scale including worsening, no improvement, mild improvement, and moderate to significant improvement. Patients were followed every month for 4 months after the procedure.
Results: Out of 36 patients, 7 (20%) had a history of previous treatment and 12 (33.3%) had a positive family history of alopecia. The mean (SD) hair count of 17.33 (4.42) at visit 1 increased to 19.20 (6.24) at visit 4 (P<0.0001). The mean hair thickness increased from 0.07 (0.058) mm at visit 1 to 0.11±0.09 mm at visit 4 (P<0.0001). Overall, clinically significant and mild improvement was observed in 11 (33.66%) and 9 (30%) patients, respectively. No improvement was observed in 4 (13.33%) patients, whereas 2 (6.66%) patients experienced worsening of the condition.
Conclusion: PRP is effective in increasing the hair count and hair thickness. However, clinically significant improvement was observed in only one third of the patients. PRP can be considered as an adjuvant treatment for patients with androgenic alopecia.