It has now been three years since then and we wanted to provide an update on where we stand with utilizing PRP Therapy as a treatment for Alopecia Areata. Before we get into the update, it is important to understand Alopecia Areata and how it is different from other forms of hair loss.
Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles, which causes inflammation around the follicle and ultimately causes the hair to fall out. There are various types of Alopecia Areata and it can affect the scalp, eyebrows, or the hair all over your body. It is important to understand that when a flareup occurs, the hair is not gone forever, and many patients are able to regrow their hair through various treatments.
However, due to the disease, a flareup can reoccur at any time causing the hair loss again. Historically, the only treatment for Alopecia Areata was steroids, both injected and topically applied on the affected areas. However, using steroids long-term is never ideal and not all patients tolerate them well.
In the past three years, we have had 6 patients with Alopecia Areata (with varying degrees of loss) that have moved forward with PRP Therapy. Of these 6 patients, 4 saw benefit from the PRP Therapy, and 2 did not. Based on the current research and the small sample size we have seen in our office, we would certainly continue to offer PPR Therapy for Alopecia Areata, especially for those patients that tried steroids with little or no success.
Our PRP Therapy protocol for Alopecia Areata is slightly different than that of patients with other types of hair loss. Our typical PRP Therapy protocol is to start with three treatments, however for patients with Alopecia Areata, if we see results during the treatment period we will complete up to 6 treatments to help stimulate further healing of the area.
