When PRP and microneedling are used together, it leads to improved hair count, more negative hair-pull tests, and better results.
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has a significant psychosocial impact on affected individuals. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a popular intervention for reducing hair loss in both male and female patients. Microneedling is a technique that involves creating small, controlled injuries to the skin to stimulate the release of growth factors and promote the growth of essential dermal elements for hair growth and rejuvenation. Combining microneedling with PRP has also shown promising results. These findings are reported in the journal Cureus.
Microneedling Shows Higher Hair-Pull Test Conversion than PRP Alone
Both treatments resulted in a significant change from positive to negative in the hair-pull test. A greater percentage of patients in the microneedling group (82.1%) achieved this result compared to the PRP-alone group (51.9%). In both groups, no patients showed positive hair-pull tests after initially testing negative at baseline.
Microneedling with PRP: A Winning Combination for Hair Regrowth
Patients in the microneedling group showed a significant increase in mean hair count after treatment (24.53 ± 9.49%), significantly higher than the increase seen in the PRP-alone group (17.88 ± 10.15%). This difference was especially pronounced for patients with grades 2 and 3 hair loss. Microneedling is an effective treatment for hair loss and may be more beneficial when combined with PRP.
Less Pain with Microneedling+PRP for Hair Loss
Patients in the PRP-alone group reported significantly higher pain perception than those in the microneedling group. This finding is important because it suggests that combining microneedling with PRP may reduce patients’ pain during the procedure. This can lead to better compliance with the treatment plan and, ultimately, better results.
Drawbacks of PRP and Microneedling Combination Therapy for Hair Growth
The longer procedure time required for microneedling and the difficulty of performing it on patients with long hair, especially females, who may experience hair getting stuck in the microneedling device. For male patients, keeping their hair short during treatment may help, but this may not be an acceptable solution for some.
It is concluded that the combination of PRP and microneedling can be a promising treatment for AGA, surpassing the effectiveness of PRP alone. By offering these interventions at earlier stages of hair loss, we can enhance their efficacy and provide patients with better outcomes.
Source:
Muhammad, A., Iftikhar, N., Mashhood, A., Saleem, Z., Sundus, M., Khalid, A. A., Khan, S., Naveed, S., Shahid, W., Ajmal, U., & Akbar, A. (2022). Comparison of Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) With PRP Microneedling in Androgenetic Alopecia. Cureus, 14(10), e30418. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30418
