PRP

[Take a chance]

For people who cannot take Finasteride is platelet rich plasma PRP an option?

[hairthere]

from everything i've read, yes. there are no side effects with prp. in addition, the limitations of fin seem to be age related in that it doesn't regrow or reverse thinning the older you get. it sounds like prp might help reverse thinning no mater what your age.

[Winston baby]

Damn, sign me up broda

[latinlotus]

from everything i've read, yes. there are no side effects with prp. in addition, the limitations of fin seem to be age related in that it doesn't regrow or reverse thinning the older you get. it sounds like prp might help reverse thinning no mater what your age.

 

You talk like it is a proven method. Until, it is proven to work, PRP is just hype/experimental/snake oil.

[SERIOUS]

I second latinlotus on that

[Ceasar08]

The terms "hype" and "snake oil" are different from the word "experimental."

 

PRP is already proven to benefit the tissue it is used upon. The data and real world results exist. "Snake oil" is something that has no scientific basis behind it.

 

PRP does grow hair -- most definitely in Alopecia Areata patients. The question is whether the extent to which it will work will be cosmetically significant. All the other questions also remain about long term effectiveness, etc.

 

It is experimental, but very promising.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I wouldn't call PRP snake oil, but I do fear that the trend of the online world is hype. Hopefully this community will keep an open mind and remain what I like to call "cautiously optimistic". There are a number of discussions on this forum regarding PRP.

 

For more information on Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), visit our Q&A blog article "Can Platelet Rich Plasma Stop Hair Loss and Grow New Hair?"

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[hairthere]

PRP has already been proven to work in other areas of surgery, so no I wouldn't classify it at all as "snake oil." The only part I was definitive about was the side effects; there are none because it's just your own platelets being injected. I SAID IT MIGHT HELP REVERSE THINNING. I have no idea if it really will work in this capacity but certainly hope it does.

[latinlotus]

PRP has already been proven to work in other areas of surgery, so no I wouldn't classify it at all as "snake oil." The only part I was definitive about was the side effects; there are none because it's just your own platelets being injected. I SAID IT MIGHT HELP REVERSE THINNING. I have no idea if it really will work in this capacity but certainly hope it does.

 

 

Hairthere:

 

It is worrying to see how some people are using flawed logic to prove a point. TakeAChance's main question is whether whether PRP works in terms of reverse hair thinning or hair regrowth. Side effects for him, is likely a secondary matter. If PRP does not work, what is the point of discussing side effects.

 

Hairthere, why don't you should just tell him to take sugar for instance. We don't know whether sugar works with hairloss but obv, it does not cause side effects.

 

On the second point, how can you be definitive that PRP does not have side effects, when in fact you admit yourself that you don't know whether it works and at this stage, it is still experimental. It is well known that there is no side effects when PRP is used for healing. However, it is another story when hundred of injections PRP are made with needle into the scalp. On top of that this treatment is likely not permanent, thus more injections are required. More scaring of the scalp tissue will not be very good for the recipient site.

 

BTW, I had first hand experience with PRP, when Dr. Cooley incorporated that in my HT. There is a big difference of using PRP to help with the healing (which had been tested for numerous years) and using PRP to deal with hair regrowth (which is at the experimental stage).

[HairHope]

I fully agree, many HT treatments, devices (including implant), and techniques have not faced traditional Phase (I/II/III) trials, thus - I would say that at best any evidence of safety and efficacy are anectdotal, in my opinion.

 

Keep this in mind when speaking definitively about ANYTHING you read.

 

Originally posted by latinlotus:

from everything i've read, yes. there are no side effects with prp. in addition, the limitations of fin seem to be age related in that it doesn't regrow or reverse thinning the older you get. it sounds like prp might help reverse thinning no mater what your age.

 

You talk like it is a proven method. Until, it is proven to work, PRP is just hype/experimental/snake oil.

[hairthere]

For people who cannot take Finasteride is platelet rich plasma PRP an option?

 

latin lotus, he asked if prp could be an alternative to fin. i assumed he could not take fin because of the side effects. all i answered was that from what i've read there are no sides because all you're doing is injecting your bodies' own platelets. could there be a risk of sides? of course. but it's been used and injected for years now without any sides. not sure why it would make a difference if the injections were in the scalp or anywhere else on the body. and if you're talking about problems with scarring, then that's a side effect of the needle, not the prp itself.

 

and i did not say he should go right out and take prp injections, or if they would work for certain. i did not endorse the treatment in any way, shape, or form. not really sure what your problem is with this.

[HairHope]

Interesting.

[Maxxy]

all i answered was that from what i've read there are no sides because all you're doing is injecting your bodies' own platelets.

 

If the above is the case, would it need to be FDA approved?

[HairHope]

Originally posted by Maxxy:

all i answered was that from what i've read there are no sides because all you're doing is injecting your bodies' own platelets.

 

If the above is the case, would it need to be FDA approved?

 

Yes of course (The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is one Center within the Food and Drug Administration, an Agency within the United States Government's Department of Health and Human Services.)

 

The original statement made me LOL. "all they are doing is injecting your own blood"...

[hairthere]

Yes, prp is FDA approved. Not sure it has to be approved for hair transplant use specifically.

 

hairhope, what about my statement made you laugh? i would feel much safer injecting my own platelets under sterile conditions than taking a man-made drug, wouldn't you? people get blood transfusions every day, do you feel that's unsafe too?

[latinlotus]

I think FDA is required only for offering to the general public, not when it is at the experimental stage.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Long ways to go....that said, I'm enough of a hair-hungry fiend to be one of the first guinea pigs for y'all.

[Ceasar08]

It's dangerous to lump everything "experimental" together into one category. Especially since every effective treatment starts out as experimental and unproven. Putting sugar or peanut butter on a person's head has zero scientific basis behind it. There is strong scientific reason to believe that PRP should grow hair.

 

Does that mean that the treatment will grow cosmetically significant hair? Of course not. Dr. Feller has already cautioned against "hype"ing the thing to death. I personally like the phrase "cautiously optimistic" to describe my attitude about it.

 

But to lump it together with "snake oil" treatments and potions is misleading. The treatment already has real world applications, evidence, and sound science behind it. It's starting to get the backing of reputable people who are usually the last ones to jump on the bandwagon.

 

If a new DHT inhibitor was patented tomorrow, it would be impossible to make any claims about it growing hair until the data was recorded. It would also not be unreasonable to think that it might grow hair for people. The science behind DHT inhibition is scientifically sound. PRP should benefit hair based on its past track record on other parts of the body.

 

I am not saying it will definitely work. I am saying that by putting all unproven methods in the same category you are actually helping the snake oil salesmen.

 

In terms of "side effects," I don't see how injecting somebody's own platelets can cause "side effects." It's done in every hospital every day, all day long. There isn't really anything about this procedure for the FDA to "approve" either. It's basically been done for a long time now in different forms.

[hairthere]

You do not need FDA approval to develop a product until it's being offered publicly, but it's beneficial to seek a PAI (premarket approval) because the process can take so long.

[HairHope]

Originally posted by hairthere:

You do not need FDA approval to develop a product until it's being offered publicly, but it's beneficial to seek a PAI (premarket approval) because the process can take so long.

 

With all do respect, you have no idea what you are talking about. All clinical research needs review both by the FDA and associated IRBs.

[Cant decide]

Is Dr. Feller going to offer PRP to patients even if they have not had or intend to get a HT?

[hairthere]

With all due respect, This is coming from the same person who thinks injecting one's own blood is dangerous.

[HairHope]

Originally posted by hairthere:

With all due respect, This is coming from the same person who thinks injecting one's own blood is dangerous.

 

I made no judgement, however I believe you should understand the potential adverse reactions associated with autologous blood transfusion. That is all, best of luck.

[Ceasar08]

Hairhope --

I would be interested myself in knowing the risks involved. According to all of my research, the procedure is about as safe as they come. Obviously, people have reactions to aspirins everyday... so nothing is entirely one hundred percent.

 

The only potential risk that I can see would be a mishandling of the blood, meaning that it is subjected to contamination or mislabeling

[hairthere]

ok hairhope, why don't you educate us to the risks because from what i've read there are almost none.