RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss that affects over 50% of the world population. It is a condition that is multifactorial in origin, with no specific causative factor, making treatment an enervating experience for the patient as well as the doctor. In recent times, a number of modalities have been introduced for the treatment of alopecia. However, the evidence supporting them is unstructured and sparse. Therefore, this article aims to explore the current trends in minimally invasive treatments for the management of androgenetic alopecia. METHODS: An in-depth literature search on injectables used in the treatment of alopecia in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, TRIP Cochrane Library, and Cochrane Skin databases between January 2000 and May 2023 was performed. The studies included were randomized controlled trials, non-randomized trials, quasi trials, single arm interventions, and cohort studies. RESULTS: Sixteen of the 1071 studies that were found during the original search were accepted in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies assessed the effectiveness of the injectable group by comparing it to a control group consisting of saline, distilled water, and topical minoxidil. In the treatment of alopecia, dutasteride and injectable growth factor formulations achieved clinically significant results. CONCLUSION: The usage of injectables and topical medicines to treat hair loss has increased in the recent years. Overall results from clinical investigations, pilot studies, and trials looking at the efficacy and safety of these growth factors in the AGA show satisfactory efficacy.
RESUMO
Over the last decade, stem cell-associated therapies are widely used because of their potential in self-renewable and multipotent differentiation ability. Stem cells have become more attractive for aesthetic uses and plastic surgery, including scar reduction, breast augmentation, facial contouring, hand rejuvenation, and anti-aging. The current preclinical and clinical studies of stem cells on aesthetic uses also showed promising outcomes. Adipose-derived stem cells are commonly used for fat grafting that demonstrated scar improvement, anti-aging, skin rejuvenation properties, etc. While stem cell-based products have yet to receive approval from the FDA for aesthetic medicine and plastic surgery. Moving forward, the review on the efficacy and potential of stem cell-based therapy for aesthetic and plastic surgery is limited. In the present review, we discuss the current status and recent advances of using stem cells for aesthetic and plastic surgery. The potential of cell-free therapy and tissue engineering in this field is also highlighted. The clinical applications, advantages, and limitations are also discussed. This review also provides further works that need to be investigated to widely apply stem cells in the clinic, especially in aesthetic and plastic contexts.