Does Estradiol Level in Platelet-Rich Plasma Improve Efficacy of Androgenic Alopecia Treatment?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although some studies in the literature report that autologous and homologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can be employed in the treatment of androgenic alopecia (AGA), no study, to the authors' knowledge, has examined the estrogen concentration of prepared PRP. OBJECTIVES: The authors aimed to determine the presence of estrogen in PRP and to investigate the effect of estrogen concentration of PRP on AGA treatment. METHODS: Between 2017 and 2018, 30 male patients with hair loss complaints were included in this prospective study. Autologous PRP was injected in patients in Group 1. Homologous PRP with high estrogen levels was injected in the patients in Group 2. PRP was injected in both groups 4 times at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months. The obtained photographs were evaluated and hair densities of each patient at controls were calculated. RESULTS: The mean estrogen level measured in PRP was statistically significantly higher in Group 2. In both groups, the increase in hair density was observed from the first month, but this increase was statistically significantly higher in all controls in Group 2. In Group 2, there was a statistically significant increase in the 1st and 3rd months compared with the previous control, but there was no difference between the 6th and 12th months and the 3rd month. CONCLUSIONS: Increased hair density is greater and earlier in the group receiving estrogen-rich PRP than in the group utilizing autologous PRP. The authors think that estrogen-rich PRP may be employed in the treatment of AGA in the presence of an appropriate donor.