Paper: Systematic Review of Platelet-Rich Plasma Use in Androgenetic Alopecia

Science
#1

We’re not here to talk about hair loss treatments, but I’m posting this because it’s an emerging treatment that appears not to have major side effects, and so could be an alternative to finasteride.

Gentile P, Garcovich S. Systematic Review of Platelet-Rich Plasma Use in Androgenetic Alopecia Compared with Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy. Int J Mol Sci . 2020;21(8):E2702. doi:10.3390/ijms21082702 | PubMed

From the conclusion:

The authors believe that the future will be based exclusively on regenerative-based therapies, and for this reason, invite all the audience to improve the level of publications in this field by focusing prevalently on EBM level 1–2 studies.

I think finasteride is not included in the category of “regenerative-based therapies.” If PRP (platelet-rich plasma) is as good as or better than finasteride, with less side effects, it is only logical to steer men to that for AGA, and avoid the disastrous consequences we all know about.

@anon5006275

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#2

Yes, that sounds good. I know some scientists and companies are working on growing and multiplying hair follicle cells in the lab. They would be from the donor and would not fall out like usual hair. This approach is 100x better than finasteride that has huge systemic consequences

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#3

I think the more exciting (and still emerging) area of hair loss treatment is Exosomes. It’s being called by many ‘the new PRP’ as PRP has been around now for awhile. There’s still a lot of work to be done with research, but early results show that exosomes can actually regrow hair in previously bald spots as opposed to PRP which only has shown growth/thickening in areas where there are still active follicles.

Either way, both PRP and Exosomes are ‘safe’ treatment options for hair loss. No life-altering medications going into the body like Finasteride or Saw Palmetto. If they had been options when I was younger, I would have never touched Propecia.