PRP Treatment for Hair Loss After COVID-19

It is observed that Covid-19 infection causes some temporary or permanent health problems in the short or long term. In the studies on the early and late stage side effects of the global epidemic, which has not been on the agenda for 2 years, it has been noted that the complaints of hair loss developing after infection have increased. As a result of their experimental studies on patients with positive PCR tests, the experts concluded that the infection, telogen effluvium and androgenetics concluded that it accelerated the process in hair loss caused by alopecia .

So, what is the role of PRP therapy in these studies?

Platelet -rich plasma (PRP) injections for the treatment of hair loss have become very popular around the world with its advantages such as minimally invasive , low-cost, simple and fast treatment. PRP consists of various growth factors, chemokines and cytokines . PRP; It has properties that promote tissue healing in hard and soft tissues such as cell survival, tissue regeneration, bone regeneration and wound repair. After recovery from COVID-19 disease, androgenetic It has been determined that hair loss due to alopecia accelerates and this process can be slowed down after PRP treatment.

the PCR test used to detect COVID-19 infection , were included in the experimental study after recovery, and 4 sessions of platelet -rich plasma, namely PRP injections, were applied to these patients. The results of the experiments; evaluated according to hair pulling tests and hair growth questionnaires.

The details of the shared research are as follows:

• After a minimum of 182 and a maximum of 264 days in people who had COVID-19 infection and recovered, 9 patients were admitted with the complaint of hair loss .
• The patients who applied are between the ages of 26-52.
• 6 of the patients are male and 3 are female.
• With the first PRP treatment, there was a noticeable decrease in the hair pull test score compared to the last PRP treatment. Even after the first PRP session applied, according to the results of the hair pulling tests, it was observed that there was a 25%-54% reduction in hair loss in all patients.
• In the growth questionnaires, it was determined that 5 patients found the treatment effective.

This experimental study was conducted on 9 people who survived the coronavirus disease at a mild level, were not hospitalized, and had at least 6 months passed from the disease.

In particular, after the diagnosis of COVID-19, improvement was observed in patients whose hair loss increased significantly, and a satisfactory rate was obtained in the post-treatment questionnaires. However , the lack of histopathological evidence and the limited number of cases are considered restrictive and insufficient to reach a definitive conclusion.

As I mentioned in my previous articles, androgenetic for the treatment of hair loss caused by alopecia , to stimulate and revitalize hair follicles; There are many different and successful treatment options such as autologous fat transfer, micro- graft , stem cell that have proven themselves or are still in the research phase. In addition, androgenetic There are also current drug treatments such as finasteride and minoxidil , which are known and used for alopecia . PRP treatment has come to the fore with the advantage of being easy, practical and fast to apply , especially during the pandemic process.

PRP – COVID 19 and skin

As a result of the experts research; They stated that skin lesions associated with COVID-19 have been described in the literature, but there are few articles on treatment and management yet, hair loss due to COVID-19 is one of the remarkable issues, and limited-session PRP injections can be recommended for hair loss due to COVID-19.

Research on the accelerating effect of hair loss and treatment options of COVID-19 infection continues. In order to form a definite opinion, more comprehensive studies and their results are needed. Although the devastating effect of the virus has begun to diminish worldwide with the acceleration of vaccine studies, research on its temporary or permanent effects on our health will remain on the agenda for a long time.