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Alma TED St George Utah
Alma TED St George Utah
Alma TED St George Utah

Alma TED’s proprietary technology with Impact  Delivery™ offers a non-invasive, non-traumatic option to address the market’s growing hair loss concerns.

What is MPB?

Male pattern baldness (MPB) is the common term for androgenic alopecia (AGA).  It is characterized by progressive hair follicle miniaturization, caused by the actions of androgens on the epithelial cells of hair follicles. It typically affects the hairline, part, vertex, and crown of the scalp.

1) Lolli, F., Pallotti, F., Rossi, A., Fortuna, M. C., Caro, G., Lenzi, A., ... & Lombardo, F. (2017). Androgenetic alopecia: a review. Endocrine, 57, 9-17.

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How common is MPB?

58% of the male population ages 30-50 show some degree of male pattern baldness with up to 80% of men affected by age 80.  Studies estimate that 44% of men with male pattern baldness are potential candidates for medical treatment.

1) Shankar, D. K., Chakravarthi, M., & Shilpakar, R. (2009). Male androgenetic alopecia: population-based study in 1,005 subjects. International journal of trichology, 1(2), 131. 2) Hagenaars, S. P., Hill, W. D., Harris, S. E., Ritchie, S. J., Davies, G., Liewald, D. C., ... & Marioni, R. E. (2017). Genetic prediction of male pattern baldness. PLoS genetics, 13(2), e1006594.

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What causes MPB?

Male pattern baldness is caused by the actions of androgens (dihydrotestosterone) on epithelial cells of hair follicles.  However, there is a large genetic component which makes some people susceptible to the effects of androgens while others are not.

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Genetic factors account for about 80% of your likelihood to develop male pattern baldness.  Numerous studies have identified two major genetic risk locations for male pattern baldness on the X-chromosome and chromosome 20.

1) Lolli, F., Pallotti, F., Rossi, A., Fortuna, M. C., Caro, G., Lenzi, A., ... & Lombardo, F. (2017). Androgenetic alopecia: a review. Endocrine, 57, 9-17. 2) Nyholt, D. R., Gillespie, N. A., Heath, A. C., & Martin, N. G. (2003). Genetic basis of male pattern baldness. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 121(6), 1561-1564.

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What can be done about MPB?

While it is largely genetic, there are ways to treat male pattern baldness in many cases.  Male pattern baldness is a slowly progressive disease as the hair follicle becomes more and more affected.  If treated while the hair follicle still has an element of vigor, it can regenerate the hair shaft which is the visible element of hair. 

1) Asfour, L., Cranwell, W., & Sinclair, R. (2023). Male androgenetic alopecia. In Endotext [Internet]. MDText. com, Inc.. 2) Alfonso, M., Richter-Appelt, H., Tosti, A., Viera, M. S., & García, M. (2005). The psychosocial impact of hair loss among men: a multinational European study. Current medical research and opinion, 21(11), 1829. 3) Cash. (1999). The psychosocial consequences of androgenetic alopecia: a review of the research literature. British Journal of Dermatology, 141(3), 398-405.

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Why treat MPB?

While male pattern baldness is often regarded as a relatively minor dermatological condition, hair loss impacts self-image and is a great cause of anxiety and depression in some men. 

Asfour, L., Cranwell, W., & Sinclair, R. (2023). Male androgenetic alopecia. In Endotext [Internet]. MDText.com, Inc. 2) Alfonso, M., Richter-Appelt, H., Tosti, A., Viera, M. S., & García, M. (2005). The psychosocial impact of hair loss among men: a multinational European study. Current medical research and opinion, 21(11), 1829. 3) Cash. (1999). The psychosocial consequences of androgenetic alopecia: a review of the research literature. British Journal of Dermatology, 141(3), 398-405.

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What treatments are available for MPB?

Currently, minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia) are the only medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as treatments of male pattern baldness.  Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride but not approved by the FDA for male pattern baldness so its use is off label.

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Low-level laser (red light) light therapy has been FDA approved for in-home treatment of male pattern baldness.   

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Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is an emerging therapy for FPHL that is proving to be successful.  It can be administered by injection or through transepidermal drug delivery (TED).  We specialize in these two PRP treatment options and feel that a combination of evidence based treatments (oral, topical, red light therapy, and PRP) would likely result in the best treatment.

 

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections are an investigational method of treating male pattern baldness that is proving successful and popular.

 

1) Adil, A., & Godwin, M. (2017). The effectiveness of treatments for androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 77(1), 136-141. 2) Yang, K., Tang, Y., Ma, Y., Liu, Q., Huang, Y., Zhang, Y., ... & Wu, W. (2021). Hair growth promoting effects of 650 nm red light stimulation on human hair follicles and study of its mechanisms via RNA sequencing transcriptome analysis. Annals of Dermatology, 33(6), 553.

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PRP injections for MPB?

1) Semsarzadeh N, Khetarpal S. Platelet-Rich Plasma and Stem Cells for Hair Growth: A Review of the Literature. Aesthet Surg J. 2020;40(4):NP177-NP188. 2) Nestor, M. S., Ablon, G., Gade, A., Han, H., & Fischer, D. L. (2021). Treatment options for androgenetic alopecia: Efficacy, side effects, compliance, financial considerations, and ethics. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 20(12), 3759-3781.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections are an investigational method of treating male pattern baldness and is proving successful.  

 

"Based on the plethora of literature that has been published in recent years, PRP is a promising, minimally invasive, office-based procedure for hair-loss treatment. Safety issues and side effects appear to be minimal."1

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"Patient satisfaction is typically very high and 60–70% of patients continue to undergo maintenance treatments."2

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Limitations to current scientific literature include a lack of standardized protocol for preparing and administering PRP which makes comparing the studies difficult. However, hair growth has been demonstrated by visual comparison and follicle count under a folliscope to assess hair density. 

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How does PRP cause hair growth?

Platelets contain more than 1100 different proteins.  Importantly, they are a storage site for the seven main growth factors found in blood.  These include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF).  If treated early, these growth factors result in cellular regeneration and growth of hair follicles. 

1) Boswell S.G., Cole B.J., Sundman E.A., Karas V., Fortier L.A.. Platelet-rich plasma: a milieu of bioactive factors. Arthroscopy. 2012;28:429–439. 2) Foster T.E., Puskas B.L., Mandelbaum B.R., Gerhardt M.B., Rodeo S.A.. Platelet-rich plasma: from basic science to clinical applications. Am. J. Sports Med. 2009;37:2259–2272. 3) Pavlovic V, Ciric M, Jovanovic V, Stojanovic P. Platelet Rich Plasma: a short overview of certain bioactive components. Open Med (Wars). 2016 Aug 12;11(1):242-247.

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