Hair Regeneration Treatment Using Adipose-derived Stem Cell Conditioned Medium

Follow-up With Trichograms

Hirotaro Fukuoka, MD, PhD; Hirotaka Suga, MD, PhD

Disclosures

ePlasty. 2015;15 

In This Article

Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

Objective Adipose-derived stem cells secrete various growth factors that promote hair growth. This study examined the effects of adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium on alopecia.

Methods Adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium was intradermally injected in 22 patients (11 men and 11 women) with alopecia. Patients received treatment every 3 to 5 weeks for a total of 6 sessions. Hair numbers were counted using trichograms before and after treatment. A half-side comparison study was also performed in 10 patients (8 men and 2 women).

Results Hair numbers were significantly increased after treatment in both male (including those without finasteride administration) and female patients. In the half-side comparison study, the increase in hair numbers was significantly higher on the treatment side than on the placebo side.

Conclusion Treatment using adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium appears highly effective for alopecia and may represent a new therapy for hair regeneration.

Introduction

Conservative treatments for alopecia include oral administration of finasteride and topical administration of minoxidil. However, these conventional therapies are ineffective in some patients. Furthermore, finasteride administration is indicated only for androgenic alopecia and is therefore applied only in male patients. New therapies that are both more effective and able to be used in female patients are required.

Adipose-derived stem cells are multipotent cells that have shown potential for regenerative medicine.[1] Adipose-derived stem cells not only differentiate into mesenchymal lineage cells but also secrete various growth factors.[2,3] Recent studies have reported that adipose-derived stem cells promote hair growth via growth factor secretion.[4,5] We have already used adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium to treat alopecia and reported good results.[6,7]

In this study, to obtain more objective data, we examined changes in hair numbers as measured using trichograms and evaluated the effects of adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium on hair regeneration.

processing....