Growth Factors and Microneedling in Alopecia Areata: A Narrative Review

The document is a review of various studies on the use of growth factors and microneedling in treating Alopecia Areata (AA), an autoimmune condition causing non-scarring hair loss. Growth factors stimulate hair growth by promoting the proliferation of the vascular endothelium and dermal fibroblasts, extending the anagen phase, and delaying the initiation of catagen in hair follicles. Microneedling aids in the penetration of high-molecular-weight drugs into the hair follicles and releases endogenous growth factors. The studies cited in the review showed significant hair regrowth and improvement in the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scores in patients with AA. For instance, a study with 60 participants showed a statistically significant clinical improvement in the SALT score after 3 months of therapy with a cosmetic product, TR-M-PRP plus. Another study with 40 patients showed that 50% of patients receiving autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells and 30% receiving autologous follicular stem cells showed a very good response. However, the review concludes that additional large-scale studies are needed to further investigate the efficacy of these treatments for AA.