A Pilot Study of Intra Scalp PRP Injections for hair loss (alopecia) in Nigerian patients

Abstract

Background: Intra scalp injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have been used alone or as adjuvant therapy for hair restoration.  Use of activated PRP with commercially available kits has limited the uptake of this modality in Nigerian patients due to cost and low availability. The use of cheaper, readily available, and affordable plain bottles for extracting PRP instead of commercial kits has been shown to be effective.

Aim: To document the effect of intrascalp autologous PRP injections extracted using plain bottles in a cohort of Nigerian patients with alopecia.

Methods: Three monthly injections of autologous PRP were administered to 8 patients (F:M = 7:1) with ≥2 years of hair loss. A Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score to assess severity; trichoscopy and a hair pull test were done. Ten millimetres of patients’ blood was collected into plain and K² EDTA bottles; centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes for the first spin; extract re-spun for 5 minutes and injected into anaesthetized alopecic scalp with a 29-G needle.

Results: Seven patients had obvious hair regrowth and negative hair pull test at review (1 month after completing the sessions). Trichoscopy demonstrated an increase in hair density and diameter in 6 patients. One patient had no demonstrable change.

Conclusions: Hair regrowth was observed in this pilot of patients following PRP injections using accessible and affordable vacutainer tubes. Standardization of more affordable methods of obtaining platelet-rich growth factors is required.