Enhancing Hair Growth in Male Androgenetic Alopecia by a Combination of Fractional CO2 Laser Therapy and Hair Growth Factors

May 2017 in “ Lasers in Medical Science ”

Yue Huang, Fenglin Zhuo, Lin-Feng Li

Studysummary This study found that combining ablative fractional CO₂ laser therapy with hair growth factors significantly increased hair density in men with androgenetic alopecia compared to using growth factors alone. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study investigated the effectiveness of combining fractional CO2 laser therapy and hair growth factors in enhancing hair growth in male androgenetic alopecia (MAA). The treatment was well-tolerated by patients, with mild side effects such as erythema, edema, and pruritus. The combination treatment resulted in a significant improvement in hair density compared to baseline, with a mean change of 29 + 22/cm². The study suggests that the creation of a wound by the ablative fractional laser may stimulate stem cell populations expressing known molecular markers of follicle differentiation to produce a hair shaft and progress through all stages of the hair follicle cycle through the Wnt/ß-catenin/Lef-1 signaling pathway.

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