Begum Bodrun Sultana, Harasit Kumar Paul.
Efficacy and safety of platelet rich plasma therapy in male androgenetic alopecia.
J Pak Assoc Derma Jan ;30(3):375-81.

Background Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common hair loss disorder affecting both men and women. Despite multiple therapeutic options, treatment of AGA remains unsatisfactory. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous concentrate of plasma with a greater count of platelets than that of whole blood and is effective in promoting hair regrowth.   Objective This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRP therapy in male androgenetic alopecia (AGA).   Materials and Methods This study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology & Venereology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University from October, 2016 to October, 2017. Fifty four male patients with AGA diagnosed by dermatologist were enrolled by consecutive sampling. The participants were divided into two groups by odd (group- A) and even numbering (Group-B). Group-A patients were treated with PRP injections on their scalp at 4 weeks interval for 3 sessions and group-B patients were treated with topical 5% minoxidil lotion for the same duration. All patients were followed up at 8th and 12th week. At each follow-up hair was counted in prefixed area of treatment, history was taken and clinical examinations were performed to detect any adverse effects of these therapies.   Results Among 54 male AGA patients, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in mean age. Positive family history of AGA was found in 74.04% and 70.37% patients in group-A and group-B respectively. According to Norwood- Hamilton classification, in group-A 29.63% patients were in Stage II and in group-B 25.93% patients were in stage II. At the beginning, in group-A and group-B mean hair count/sq.cm was 15.41±1.16 and 15.56±1.88 respectively. At 8th week, mean hair count/sq.cm of group-A and group-B was 17.42±1.10 and 16.15±1.87 and at 12th week, the hair growth of group-A was increased to 19.14±1.06/sq.cm which was significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to group-B (17.62±2.07/sq.cm). 81.48% patient complaints mild pain followed by erythema at the injection site in group-A and 66.66% patient complaints of transient hair fall at the beginning in group-B.   Conclusion PRP was more efficacious than topical 5% minoxidil lotion in male AGA.  

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