My PRP experience so far

[35YrsAfter]

I was somewhere between nw2 and 3..some thinning in the crown and receded hairline. It isn't extremely noticeable. It was definitely worsening before the treatment. I have been losing hair for 2 years at a slow rate, however it has picked up in the last 5-6 months.

Have you had PRP done?

I think the reason a lot of people don't see great success with PRP is because they don't go to a reputable PRP doctor, and there's a lot more that goes into PRP than meets the eye. For instance, different factors that cause and hasten hair loss. Further, the differences in peoples' blood.

I'm sure we are going to see an increase in PRP usage in the field of hair loss and an increase in it's efficacy as more research is done on it.

exactamundo

Chuck

[FearTheLoss]

exactamundo

Chuck

Hey Chuck,
Is doctor Cole doing any studies on prp? I know I've seen some patients of his have success with the treatment.

[35YrsAfter]

Hey Chuck,
Is doctor Cole doing any studies on prp? I know I've seen some patients of his have success with the treatment.

We do a HairCheck before PRP treatments. If the patient is available for a followup 8-13 months later, we do another HairCheck and at that time compare hair mass numbers with the previous numbers. This way we can calculate the percentage of improvement. Nearly everyone gets some improvement after PRP treatment. Dr. Cole reminded me of the Dr. Merritt study where he started plucking hairs from a full head of hair until there was obvious thinning. It wasn't until over 50% of the hairs were gone that there was noticeable thinning. With this in mind, a 20% PRP treatment improvement isn't going to produce a jaw-dropping impression. According to Dr. Greco, at least in women, regular PRP treatments can "ratchet" improvement in hair caliber forward over time.

Chuck

[FearTheLoss]

We do a HairCheck before PRP treatments. If the patient is available for a followup 8-13 months later, we do another HairCheck and at that time compare hair mass numbers with the previous numbers. This way we can calculate the percentage of improvement. Nearly everyone gets some improvement after PRP treatment. Dr. Cole reminded me of the Dr. Merritt study where he started plucking hairs from a full head of hair until there was obvious thinning. It wasn't until over 50% of the hairs were gone that there was noticeable thinning. With this in mind, a 20% PRP treatment improvement isn't going to produce a jaw-dropping impression. According to Dr. Greco, at least in women, regular PRP treatments can "ratchet" improvement in hair caliber forward over time.

Chuck

That's great to hear. So you'd say Dr. Cole would also support regular PRP treatments as a effective way to stop the progression of miniaturizing and further hair loss for the majority of people?

[MG63]

Hi all -- I've been a patient of the Greco Group for more than 3 years, during which time I’ve learned a lot about my hair loss situation what worked and what didn’t as well as the ongoing battle of aging with respect to hair loss.

First a little background, from age 40 to 42 I had over 2200 FUE grafts (by Dr. Cole) that helped to reestablish the front hairline and some of the crown. However, this did leave some sparse areas in the donor area. At the age of 45 the battle of hormones was raging (e.g., Estradiol levels climbing, SHBG and DHT levels were bouncing, free testosterone was good) and scalp fibrosis set in. So as you can imagine the shedding started in crown. So using my research experience, I began looking for a solution that would at least control the hair loss without the use of hormone suppressing drugs or Minoxidil – both of which can have long-term side effects. In addition to controlling hair loss I wanted to maintain healthy hormone levels (e.g., HGH, IGF, Testosterone, SHBG, Estradiol ,etc.) as I believe there is some relationship to aging, hormone imbalance and hair loss. Not a small task, given the amount of zeno estrogens affecting men today.



What I learned about my hair loss issue was that it was a confluence of issues, increase in scalp fibrosis, loss of fatty tissue under my scalp (age-related), increase in DHT and poor blood flow to scalp that was crushing the hair and causing it to miniaturize. In addition, the fibrosis was clearly accelerating because of stress. With all this in mind, I decided to take an offensive approach – balance the hormones and then find a way to rebuild or generate a healthy scalp.



Fortunately, I have a background in nutrition so the hormone balancing (including stress hormones) came easy with natural supplements and diet changes. The next problem became rebuilding the scalp to create a fertile area for blood and follicular stem cells to do their job. Enter PRP, in all the research in scalp regeneration Platelet Rich Plasma, Growth Factors that are in our body kept surfacing as the most obvious approach. After all the body makes platelets and growth factors in great abundance, though it does decrease with age. Convinced this was the optimum approach I began PRP treatment with Dr. Greco, because his GF yield is among the highest in the industry (secret sauce I say). I will add that all the studies I’ve read show that PRP must yield a high concentration of Platelets, Cytokines and Growth, at least 400% more than what the body produces.

So what happen?

Treatment 1 – hair textured improved immediately, existing hairs thicken

Treatment 2 – new hair in crown and existing hair continued to thicken

Treatments 3,4,5 – more hair in crown and some behind transplanted hair line

Over the course of all the treatment the hair loss continue to decrease and is normal.



What I also did between sessions 3-5 I added a new supplement known to boost GF and platelet production I the body – Colostrum. The research on Colostrum is quite significant, it has been used extensively to help heal muscle and cartridge trauma, stop the progression or reverse MS, improve stem cell production and much more. When I switched over to this supplement. Dr. Greco even noted that the amount of platelets in my blood were quite significant. This was an important change in the formulary in my opinion, because as we get older production of platelets declines, more so in men than women. With the decline in platelets comes also a decline in Platelet Derive Growth Factors (PDGF) again for stimulating cell proliferation and differentiation.

So today at age 51, while I do not have the head of hair that I had when I was 20. I do have more hair than I did at 45 and shedding is normal. So mission accomplished thanks to PRP and the Greco Group. There is much more to this story and will do some more writing as time permits

[Justinian]

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So what happen?

Treatment 1 – hair textured improved immediately, existing hairs thicken

Treatment 2 – new hair in crown and existing hair continued to thicken

Treatments 3,4,5 – more hair in crown and some behind transplanted hair line

Over the course of all the treatment the hair loss continue to decrease and is normal.

Thanks for sharing your experience. So if you've been a patient for 3 years I take it you go in every 6 months for treatment?

[35YrsAfter]

The research on Colostrum is quite significant, it has been used extensively to help heal muscle and cartridge trauma, stop the progression or reverse MS, improve stem cell production and much more. When I switched over to this supplement. Dr. Greco even noted that the amount of platelets in my blood were quite significant. This was an important change in the formulary in my opinion, because as we get older production of platelets declines, more so in men than women. With the decline in platelets comes also a decline in Platelet Derive Growth Factors (PDGF) again for stimulating cell proliferation and differentiation.

So today at age 51, while I do not have the head of hair that I had when I was 20. I do have more hair than I did at 45 and shedding is normal. So mission accomplished thanks to PRP and the Greco Group. There is much more to this story and will do some more writing as time permits

Thanks for posting. Do you use colostrum from a human donor such as the product Lee Biosolutions offers?

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office - forhair.com - Cole Hair Transplant, 1045 Powers Place, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 - Phone 678-566-1011 - email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[MG63]

that is correct. I have established is preventive approach. Similar to what I take in working with my own patients (I'm a nutritionist). For example clients will have a goal to balance hormones and I say this is a two step process - first is baseline current hormone levels, second devise a protocol (diet, supplementation, etc.) to recognizes the aging process. With that said, I might have to increase frequency to every 4 months as I approach 60 or it could go the other direction whereas I need less because if was diligent in rebuilding the fatty layer below the dermis. Again this is just my perspective.

[MG63]

I use Bovine Colostrum from the ABS group, which has patented extraction process that yields the highest Immunglobins and Growth Factors. Below are links to the products. For people with milk allergies or concerns about Casein sensitivity, Goat Colostrum is also available on iherb.

http://www.iherb.com/Symbiotics-Colo...3&sr=null&ic=5

http://www.iherb.com/Mt-Capra-CapraC...4&sr=null&ic=1

I also use a spray to boost immunity and boost GF. Sub-lingual absorption is quite effective because it by passes the gut and goes straight to blood stream. I applied this topically to a burn - it healed within 24 hours.

http://www.iherb.com/California-Gold...2&sr=null&ic=1

[35YrsAfter]

I use Bovine Colostrum from the ABS group, which has patented extraction process that yields the highest Immunglobins and Growth Factors. Below are links to the products. For people with milk allergies or concerns about Casein sensitivity, Goat Colostrum is also available on iherb.

I also use a spray to boost immunity and boost GF. Sub-lingual absorption is quite effective because it by passes the gut and goes straight to blood stream. I applied this topically to a burn - it healed within 24 hours.

Great to hear about your progress. Could you post some photos?

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office - forhair.com - Cole Hair Transplant, 1045 Powers Place, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 - Phone 678-566-1011 - email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck