Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study on the Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Women With Female Androgenetic Alopecia

BACKGROUNDPlatelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been suggested as a therapeutic intervention for female androgenetic alopecia.OBJECTIVETo perform a pilot study on the effect of PRP scalp injections in women with female androgenetic alopecia.MATERIALS AND METHODSThis double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled study compared the effect of PRP with that of saline placebo as scalp injection. The endpoints were hair count and hair mass index (HMI), along with patient-opinion survey responses. Platelet-rich plasma was manufactured from patients' blood using the Angel PRP system.RESULTSHair mass index or hair count did not statistically significantly differ between the study and placebo groups. However, 13.3% of the treatment subjects (vs 0% of the placebo subjects) experienced substantial improvement in hair loss, rate of hair loss, hair thickness, and ease of managing/styling hair, and 26.7% (vs 18.2% of the placebo group) reported that their hair felt coarser or heavier after the treatment.CONCLUSIONPlatelet-rich plasma failed to demonstrate any statistically significant improvement in HMI or hair count in women with congenital female pattern hair loss. The patient survey results suggest a therapeutic advantage of PRP as perceived by patients but not according to hair count or HMI.