Factors Improve Density of Male Baldness Hair Implants

Density improved by about 15 percent after surgery

TUESDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For men with male pattern baldness, follicular density improves by about 15 percent if the follicular units are embedded with autologous platelet plasma growth factors when implanted, researchers report in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Carlos O. Uebel, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, studied 20 men with male pattern baldness. Each patient had two 2.5-cm square follicular units implanted on opposite bald areas of the scalp. One follicular unit was embedded with autologous platelet plasma growth factors while the other was left untreated.

The researchers found that areas treated with plasma growth factors had a significant 15.1 percent increase in follicular density (18.7 versus 16.4 follicular units per square centimeter). However, the increase in density varied from 3 percent to 52 percent, the authors note.

"This study provides a new perspective and contribution to baldness surgery with follicular unit megasessions, and demonstrates an improvement that can be introduced into baldness surgery clinics with less morbidity and a low cost-to-benefit ratio," Uebel and colleagues conclude.

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