Platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of alopecia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Engaging blood donors as advocates: Social media preferences and associations with marketing stimuli

BACKGROUND

Various critical medical procedures would become impossible without blood donations-saving lives in emergencies, surgeries, and chronic conditions like thalassemia. Therefore, it seems crucial to enhance donor recruitment and ensure blood supply. For this, we rate donor motivations and explore associations between donors' engagement with marketing stimuli and willingness to participate in donor recruitment. To help design tailored marketing strategies, this study examines age-specific social media preferences for promoting blood donation.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

To reach these objectives, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 907 donors at Israeli blood-donation centers. Data on donation motivations, social media preferences, and willingness to recruit others were collected through a structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

The leading motivators for blood donation were solidarity and marketing stimuli. The results also revealed a significant association between donors' engagement with marketing stimuli and willingness to encourage others to donate blood. The channel preferred by donors of all age groups for promoting blood donation content was WhatsApp. The choice of other social media varied significantly by age. While younger donors (18-30) favored Instagram, other donor age groups (31-50; 51+) preferred Facebook. Based on average values, the most popular social media for promoting blood donation content were WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.

DISCUSSION

Insights from this research can support blood collection agencies in refining marketing strategies for donor recruitment. For maximizing the reach of recruitment efforts, it seems essential to use various social media based on donors' age groups.

Bibliometric Analysis of Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment for Hair Restoration, Facial Rejuvenation, Dental Procedures, and Gynecological Rejuvenation

Introduction

Autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) technologies offer an attractive treatment option for various medical fields. Owing to its high concentration of growth factors, PRP has been posited to induce proliferation, differentiation, and angiogenesis at the cellular level, as well as wound-healing and remodeling at the tissue level. The goal of the present bibliometric analysis was to characterize the growing body of literature concerning PRP use in various medical applications.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was performed on June 28, 2024, using Web of Science and SCOPUS databases, covering all available publications in selected categories from 2001 to present.

Results

PRP use for hair restoration had both the greatest number of total publications among the investigated applications, whereas PRP use in dental procedures had the longest-standing history of publications. PRP use in hair restoration and facial rejuvenation had the greatest number of placebo-controlled and double-blinded randomized controlled trials; however, the impact of results may suffer from a lack of consistency in PRP preparation and outcome measurement between different studies.

Conclusion

To effectively validate the utility of PRP across various medical interventions, careful consideration of methodology should be undertaken for future studies to ensure validity of results.

Platelet rich plasma for facial rejuvenation: an overview of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a non-surgical therapy for facial rejuvenation is increasingly adopted. This article aims to review the literature and critically appraise the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of PRP for facial rejuvenation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An overview of systematic reviews (SRs) of PRP use for facial rejuvenation. The methodological quality of the SRs was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 checklist; quality of the evidence from the trials included in each SR was appraised following the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

Thirteen SRs published between 2015 and 2023, reporting data from 114 overlapping reports, based on 28 individual primary studies (18 uncontrolled reports), were included in this umbrella review. Eight primary studies evaluated PRP in combination with other treatments (laser therapy, fat grafting, hyaluronic acid, basic fibroblast growth factor), and 20 PRP monotherapy. Most of the included primary studies were uncontrolled, and meta-analysis for outcomes related to facial rejuvenation was conducted in only 1 of the 13 SRs, showing that patients treated with PRP as an adjunct treatment have increased satisfaction over controls without PRP (mean difference, 0.63; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 0.25/1; p=0-001; low certainty of evidence due to risk of bias (ROB) and inconsistency). No other quantitative data were available from the SRs, although 4 SRs concluded in a descriptive way reveal that PRP combined with laser therapy increased subject satisfaction and skin elasticity, and decreased the erythema index (very low certainty of evidence due to imprecision, unsystematic clinical observations, and ROB). The occurrence of adverse events was a predefined outcome in only 2 SRs (15%). Almost all the SRs demonstrated poor compliance with the AMSTAR 2 items, and the confidence in the results of SRs was graded as low or critically low in 12 of the 13 SRs.

DISCUSSION

The available evidence is insufficient to suggest firm conclusions about the use of PRP, alone or in combination with other treatments, in promoting facial rejuvenation.

Platelet rich plasma use for treatment of acne scars: an overview of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

A reappraisal of the conclusions of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses validity related to Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), alone or in combination with other treatments, compared to regimens PRP-free for the treatment of acne scars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An overview of SRs. The methodological quality of the reviews was assessed using AMSTAR-2 checklist; quality of the evidence of primary studies was appraised following the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

Fifteen SRs were included in this overview. Data were from 124 overlapping reports, based on 34 individual primary studies (10 parallel arm randomized trials, 21 split-face studies, and 3 uncontrolled studies). Most of the studies evaluated combination of PRP with microneedling or with laser therapy compared to microneedling or laser therapy without PRP. Clinical improvement (reported as degree of improvement or improvement score) and patient's satisfaction rate were significantly higher in PRP recipients compared to controls. Crusting time and duration of erythema were significantly shorter in PRP recipients compared to controls. Most of the reviews considered in this overview can be considered of low methodological quality due to the fact that several critical methodological requirements of AMSTAR-2 checklist were unmet or partially met; only 6 of the 15 reviews incorporated study quality in their conclusions, and no GRADE assessment was performed for the reported outcomes in any of the SRs. With the GRADE approach, the quality of the evidence for the outcomes analysed ranged from very low to low due to risk of bias in the primary studies, inconsistency between the studies, and imprecision.

DISCUSSION

The low or very low certainty of evidence does not support clear clinical decision about the PRP use in combination with microneedling or laser therapy for the treatment of acne scars. Further well-designed studies are required to improve the evidence base for PRP combination therapy for acne scars.

The role of platelet-rich plasma in androgenetic alopecia: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), also referred to as male or female pattern hair loss, is the commonest cause of chronic hair loss and affects up to 80% of men by the age of 70. Despite a high prevalence, there are few approved therapies, which show minimal efficacy.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PrP) in the treatment of AGA in male patients.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane (CENTRAL), CINAHL, clinicaltrials.gov, Google Scholar and the Science Citation Index database were searched to identify eligible studies. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies related to PrP use in AGA were included. Primary outcomes included changes in hair density and hair count. Methodological quality was assessed using bias assessment tools.

RESULTS

Eight RCTs and one cohort study were included in the review with a total of 291 participants. Six studies reported a statistically significant increase in hair density in the PrP group versus the control. Five studies reported a statistically significant increase in hair count with PrP. Seven studies showed moderate risk and two showed low risk of bias.

CONCLUSION

In a methodologically robust review on the effectiveness of PrP on male AGA, PrP demonstrated some potential to be used therapeutically. However, the low quality of evidence, moderate risk of bias, and high heterogeneity of included studies limit inferences and call for more robust designs to investigate this further.

How Our Microbiome Influences the Pathogenesis of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is a multifactorial autoimmune-based disease with a complex pathogenesis. As in all autoimmune diseases, genetic predisposition is key. The collapse of the immune privilege of the hair follicle leading to scalp loss is a major pathogenic event in alopecia areata. The microbiota considered a bacterial ecosystem located in a specific area of the human body could somehow influence the pathogenesis of alopecia areata, as it occurs in other autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the Next Generation Sequencing of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene and the metagenomic methodology have provided an excellent characterization of the microbiota. The aim of this narrative review is to examine the published literature on the cutaneous and intestinal microbiota in alopecia areata to be able to establish a pathogenic link. In this review, we summarize the influence of the microbiota on the development of alopecia areata. We first introduce the general pathogenic mechanisms that cause alopecia areata to understand the influence that the microbiota may exert and then we summarize the studies that have been carried out on what type of gut and skin microbiota is found in patients with this disease.