Male Pattern Baldness – Mesotherapy & PRP

Hair loss resulting in thinning is known as alopecia. When it is related to hormones (androgens) and genetics, it is known as androgenetic alopecia, or more commonly balding. Male pattern alopecia is characterised by a receding hairline and/or hair loss on the top and front of the head.

Male pattern hair loss or baldness is an inherited condition, caused by a genetically determined sensitivity to the effects of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT in some areas of the scalp. DHT is believed to shorten the growth, or anagen, phase of the hair cycle, from a usual duration of 3-6 years to just weeks or months. This causes miniaturisation of the follicles, and producing progressively fewer and finer anagen hairs. The production of DHT is regulated by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase.
Several genes are involved, accounting for differing age of onset, progression, pattern and severity of hair loss in family members. The susceptibility genes are inherited from both mother and father. Baldness can have a serious psychological impact. Studies have shown that hair loss can be associated with low self esteem, depression, introversion, and feelings of unattractiveness.
Current treatment options include:

Hair Transplantation: Hair transplants. This type of procedure removes tiny plugs of skin, each containing a few hairs, from the back or sides of your scalp. The plugs are then implanted into the bald sections of your scalp. Several transplant sessions may be needed, as hereditary hair loss progresses with time.
Medicines: Medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hair loss include Minoxidil solution and Finasteride

Minoxidil: Minoxidil is an over-the-counter liquid or foam that you rub into your scalp twice daily to grow hair and to prevent further loss. Some people experience some hair regrowth or a slower rate of hair loss or both. It may take 12 weeks for new hair to start growing. Minoxidil is available in a 2 percent solution and in a 5 percent solution. Side effects can include scalp irritation and occasionally unwanted hair growth on the adjacent skin of the forehead or face.

Finasteride: This prescription medication to treat male-pattern baldness is taken daily in pill form. Many men taking finasteride experience a slowing of hair loss, and some may show some new hair growth. Rare side effects of finasteride include diminished sex drive and sexual function.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is an alternative treatment that helps to cure baldness in both males and females by reducing hair loss, promoting hair growth and slowing male pattern baldness. This is done by injecting in the least painful way, nutrient boosters in the scalp with the help of an injection gun to aid in the nourishing and hydration of the scalp. This also includes initiating cell metabolism, eliminating infections and promoting and accelerating hair growth, improving blood circulation in the scalp and strengthening and reviving the hair follicles to help create dense, voluminous, strong, long and healthy tresses. This is a comparatively faster treatment than its counterparts as it helps to gradually restore hormonal balance and neutralizes the effects of DHT hormone leading to accelerated growth of new hair strands.

The solution injected can contain a wide range of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, nucleic acids and co-enzymes that can be tailored to each patient’s individual needs. Mesotherapy for hair loss is used with great success in Europe and the United States. The treatment is virtually painless and safe when done professionally. There is no dressing or local anaesthesia required. After the treatment you can just go back to work.

Mesotherapy brings just the right materials to the exact place where it is needed (around the hair follicle) so that the hair follicle can grow and survive, the excess of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) is neutralised and the blood circulation is stimulated.

PRP

Dr Radhakrishnan Nair implements PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) hair loss treatment, which is an innovative method for the treatment of male & female hair loss. PRP is based on the platelet rich plasma, an enriched in platelets portion of blood that is easily extracted after a special treatment of a small blood sample. Its direct injection into the area affected by hair loss appears to be a highly effective hair loss treatment as well as hair transplant boosting treatment, since it takes advantage of the various growth factors that platelets contain, which promote cell proliferation and tissue regeneration.

PRP protocol at Dr.RK’s LSCC

PRP treatment is implemented under strict specifications of hygiene & safety by Dr Radhakrishnan Nair in accordance with the following protocol:
1. Blood collection (like a general blood test) up to 50cc
2. Blood centrifugation in order to separate and extract the plasma as well as the platelets
3. Infusion of the multi-potent platelet-rich plasma into the area affected by hair loss (topical anaesthesia has been previously performed).

The frequency for the PRP treatment depends on each case, and it is usually repeated every 6 months or 1 year. Nevertheless, in cases of Alopecia who require more intense treatment, it should be repeated more frequently.
Blood is consisted of approximately 55% plasma, which contains red & white blood cells, platelets, proteins, other nutrients, vitamins, electrolytes and carries out their distribution in the body. Two of the most important components of PRP are Cytokines (proteins of growth, differentiation and immunological response) and Growth Factors.

When implemented as a hair loss treatment, PRP is able to reactivate the impaired hair follicles that do not operate properly in order to provide invigorated hair. PRP “forces” the human organism to react in an intense but completely natural way to the impaired function of hair follicles, by supplying the concerned area with activated cells that take up the regeneration process, thus contributing to the regeneration of the hair follicles.

While PRP is in the early stages of scientific research in hair restoration, PRP is not meant to replace current FDA approved therapies such as DHT blockers and Minoxidil. but it is a promising non-surgical therapeutic option for those patients with hair loss.