(HealthDay)—Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) can minimize postsurgical follicle loss and promote hair regeneration in patients undergoing follicular unit extraction technique (FUE) for hair loss, according to a study published online Oct. 26 in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Roge M. Navarro, M.D., from the Centro Dermatológico-Estético de Alicante in Spain, and colleagues examined the safety and clinical efficacy of PRGF technology as an adjuvant for FUE surgery in patients with hair loss. Fifteen patients were subjected to routine FUE and 15 underwent FUE + PRGF therapy. The PRGF group received intradermal injections of growth factors and follicular transfer unit (FTU) preservation in an autologous fibrin clot.
The researchers found that after treatment with autologous growth factors, follicular cell proliferation and migration was induced. Higher bioactivity signals and improved integrity of perifollicular structure and extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen and elastic fibers were presented with PRGF-preserved FTUs. Postsurgical crust healing and hair fixation period were reduced with PRGF, which also decreased the inflammatory pain and itching sensation.
“[These] preliminary data demonstrate that PRGF is able to minimize the postsurgical follicle loss and potentiate the performance of grafted hairs,” the authors write. “The fibrin clot not only acts as a protective barrier against environmental factors, but also provides a biologically active scaffold that induces resident cell proliferation and maintains an optimal integrity of the grafted hair.”
Several authors are employees of the BTI Biotechnology Institute, which developed the PRGF-Endoret technology.
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