Use of Fractionated Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

December 2023 in “ Lasers in Medical Science ”

Patrick Jedlowski, Michelle Anthony

fractionated laser therapy androgenetic alopecia hair shaft diameter erbium-glass laser thulium laser topical therapies injectable therapies AGA

TLDR Fractionated laser therapy, especially erbium-glass laser, effectively increases hair thickness in people with hair loss but doesn't increase the number of hairs.

The systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 studies investigated the use of fractionated laser therapy for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The study found that fractionated laser combination therapy and monotherapy significantly improved hair shaft diameter, with an increase of 2.51 (95% CI 2.37–2.65, I2 = 90.54) and 2.28 (95% CI 2.03–2.52, I2 = 91.20%) respectively. This effect was durable for both erbium-glass (2.36 95% CI 2.01–2.71, I2 = 92.05%) and thulium (1.61 95% CI 1.08–2.15, I2 = < 0.00%) lasers. However, there was no improvement in hair shaft count for any laser modality. The study concluded that erbium-glass laser is an effective modality as either monotherapy or combination with topical/injectable therapies to improve hair shaft diameter in AGA.

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