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New Therapies for Hair Transplantation

by Amy Eckner •

Regenerative medicine. Dr. Kuka strongly believes that advances in regenerative medicine have potential applications in hair restoration. “Research is currently examining the use of stem cells to regenerate damaged or diseased tissue in many conditions such as heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, arthritis, burns, and scleroderma,” she said. “I believe fat grafting and the use of stem cells will be key in treating hair loss in the near future.”

3-D hair root printing. Researchers are expanding the use of biomedical 3-D printing technology in other areas of medicine, including 3-D printing of internal organs and skin. Dr. Ishii foresees the ability to print 3-D hair roots, eliminating the need for a donor area entirely and giving hair transplant surgeons an unlimited supply; however, although private companies are currently developing this technology further, its clinical use for hair transplantation is still in the distant future.

Amy Eckner is a freelance medical writer based in California.

PRP in the Literature

There have been some limited studies in the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia:

Platelet-Rich Plasma in Androgenic Alopecia: Myth or an Effective Tool?

In this study, 11 patients suffering from androgenic alopecia-related hair loss who did not respond to six months of treatment with minoxidil and finasteride received a total volume of 2-3 cc PRP injected into the scalp every two weeks, for a total of four times. Outcome, which was based on clinical examination, macroscopic photos, hair pull test, and patient’s overall satisfaction, was assessed after three months and showed a significant reduction in hair loss between the first and fourth injection. Hair count increased from an average number of 71 hair follicular units to 93 hair follicular units (J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2014;7:107-110).

Platelet-rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) for androgenetic alopecia

This prospective cohort study followed 15 participants—nine male, six female—with androgenic alopecia for at least one year who were treated with intradermal injections of autologous PRFM three times on a monthly basis. After a series of three intradermal PRFM injections, hair density indices increased significantly at two months after the initial treatment and approached statistical significance at six months (Facial Plast Surg. 2014;30:219-224).