Abstract
Aim: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy in alopecia areata (AA) patients with normal and with elevated levels of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies and/or anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies.
Materials and methods: The study included 30 AA patients divided into two groups: AA patients with normal (Group 1) and with elevated antithyroid antibodies (Group 2). PRP was applied in three consecutive monthly sessions. Treatment results were evaluated by clinical photography, assessment of scalp hair, trichoscopy, and assessment of patients’ quality of life.
Results: The mean age of patients was 42.10 years, 23 (76.6%) patients were with normal and seven (23.3%) were with elevated antithyroid antibodies. Eleven (50%) patients from Group 1 had significant hair growth, of which ten with AA partialis (45.5%), one with AA reticularis (4.6%). Two patients with alopecia reticularis and two with alopecia totalis had insignificant hair growth. Worsening was found in four patients with alopecia reticularis and alopecia totalis. In Group 2 one patient with alopecia partialis (14.3%) had a significant hair growth, five patients with alopecia reticularis and one with alopecia totalis had insignificant hair growth, and none of the patients worsened.
Conclusions: PRP therapy was effective in patients with mild to moderate form of AA and most had normal antithyroid antibodies. Patients with severe AA, AA ophiasis and alopecia totalis, with normal and elevated antibodies, did not benefit from PRP therapy.