Category Archives: Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

A Smorgasbord of PRP and Hair Growth News

Make sure to also read my post from last year on how well PRP works. There are quite a few studies from around the world that suggest that PRP is more than just a scam as many commentators seem to think.

The past several weeks have witnessed a huge number of news items, forum posts, videos and more related to platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and hair growth.

  • A new Italian study on PRP and hair growth was published in November in Stem Cells Translational Medicine. Results were favorable, with mean hair count increasing by 33.6 hairs, and mean hair density increasing by 45. 9 hairs per square centimeter. Point of interest: “We also observed an increase of Ki67(+) keratinocytes in the epidermis and of hair follicular bulge cells, and a slight increase of small blood vessels around hair follicles in the treated skin.”
  • At the 9th Congress for Hair Research from November 18-21, Dr. Ratchathorn Panchaprateep from Thailand presented favorable findings regarding combination therapy treatment of hair loss using PRP and Non-Ablative 1,550 nm Erbium Glass Fractional Laser. Total benefits in nine patients averaged around 17 percent increases in both hair density and hair mass. Treatment entailed two injection each month for six months in total.
  • On November 24th, Dr. Sam Lam published a video of his presentation on PRP/ACell/ATP at the 7th Annual Hair Transplant 360 Workshop that took place in Saint Louis, Missouri from November 19-22. ATP stands for Adenosine triphosphate, and it is usually administered in liposomal form via a spray during a hair transplant procedure.
  • On December 8th, the UK’s sensationalist/gossip rag Daily Mail (my favorite newspaper when it comes to hair related news) published an article on PRP injected in gel form for hair growth purposes. The Daily Mail’s articles are often quite inaccurate, but I am still glad that they give so much emphasis to hair loss news.

Overall, it seems like PRP is here to stay in the hair loss industry, especially when used in combination with extracellular matrix products such as ACell. However, as Dr. Jeffrey Rapaport told me recently, PRP will not regrow hair in totally bald areas. At best, it will make existing hair stronger, and in those who are lucky, reverse recent miniaturization.

It is important to go to an experienced physician if getting PRP treatments. I would only go to a doctor who has been treating hair loss patients with PRP for at least two years. You should also carefully check the pricing and number of treatments needed per year, as both vary significantly depending on physician. Some are very obvious ripoffs in my opinion.