PRP Therapy

• Platelet-rich plasma (Abbreviation: PRP) is blood plasma that has been enriched with platelets. As a concentrated source of autologous platelets, PRP contains (and releases through degranulation) several different growth factors and other cytokines that stimulate healing of bone and soft tissue.
• Blood consists of approximately 93% red blood cells (RBC), 1% white blood cells (WBC) and 6% platelets, all suspended in plasma. In platelet rich plasma, the RBC count is lowered to 5, since they are less useful in the healing process, while the platelet count is increased to 94%.
• This leads to a plasma super rich in platelets, at a much higher percentage than would be found in normal blood concentrations i.e. 1,000,000 platelets/mL of plasma.

The potential role of PRP in dermatology and aesthetic medicine is an exciting frontier that may eventually lead to superior therapies in the near future, however according to the evidence based medicine, the level of evidence from the available published data is low. There are no double blind, randomized, placebo controlled trials conducted on a large sample size to constitute a good quality of evidence. Hence, a healthy amount of caution should be exercised by the treating physician in its preparation and use during procedures. Further research is awaited to unfold its long term efficacy and safety.