Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 10-18-2020

Class Instructor(s)

Charity Keplinger, DHSc, MPAS, PA-C, Jacob Adkison, DNP

Comments

Background: Topical Minoxidil is the most common FDA approved treatment for Androgenic Alopecia (AA), but does not work for everyone. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a new treatment for AA that has been shown to be effective at treating AA. However, there is no consensus on which treatment is more effective.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to compare the studies available that directly evaluate whether PRP therapy or topical Minoxidil is more effective at treating AA.

Methods: The google scholar database was searched for studies written in English that directly compared platelet rich plasma injections and topical minoxidil in treatment of AA. Ultimately 4 studies were included in this review.

Results: Patel et al (2016) showed the PRP group having better outcomes. In Verma et al (2019) the PRP group had higher patient satisfaction and perceived better outcomes. In Novarro et al (2016) the PRP group had a higher increase in anagen hair and higher decrease in telogen hair. In Farid et al (2016) the Minoxidil group had a higher rate of normalization of hair shedding than PRP group.

Discussion: All 4 studies found both treatments effective at treating androgenic alopecia. The studies showed increases in hair density and amount of anagen hair present with both treatments and no serious side effects. In the future, more studies are needed to fully evaluate if PRP therapy is more effective than topical Minoxidil at treating AA.

Conclusion: This study shows that there is no clear evidence that PRP or Minoxidil is more effective than the other at treating AA.

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