Small Trial Shows Promise for Hair Loss Treatment Injections

Scalp injections are all the rage when it comes to treating genetic hair loss, despite the lack of evidence concerning their efficacy as a standalone treatment.

From mesotherapy to PRP, both men and women are turning to what many assume to be a 'quick fix' hair loss solution, in a bid to combat their thinning hair, even though these purported scalp injections for hair regrowth are required regularly as part of an on-going treatment programme.

These minimally invasive therapies are not a 'one and done' remedy and many trial results appear to suggest they should be classified as a hair growth support rather than a solo, front-line hair loss treatment.

However, due to the rising popularity of injectable treatments for Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Hair Loss, many variations are being explored, the latest of which features cells derived from the patient's own body fat being injected into their scalps.

Using body fat-derived cells to stimulate hair regrowth

Colorado, USA-based cellular medicine company, the GID Group first registered its intentions of carrying out a small scale clinical trial investigating a specific, single scalp injection within a six month period, as a treatment for androgenetic alopecia, in December 2015.

The aim was to determine whether or not adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) injections in patients scalps could stimulate hair regrowth in cases of Male and Female Pattern Baldness.

These involved harvesting a small amount of the patient's body fat (adipose) using liposuction, from which SVF was derived. SVF is known to contain various cell populations. These may have beneficial regenerative properties, which the researchers hoped may stimulate hair regrowth when injected into a 2cm x 2cm area of the trial participants' scalps.

After carrying out a six month trial, comprising just seven participants aged between 18 and 65 years of age - three of whom withdrew from the exercise, leaving four subjects from whom to draw conclusions - the results were published on 21st March 2019.

The primary objective was to establish the safety of the treatment by monitoring for any adverse events, whilst the secondary measure was to assess new hair growth by comparing the number of hairs each participant had before and after the trial.

Results show increased hair growth

The four American participants - two male, two female - who completed the full trial had a mean age of 41 years.

Before being administered their treatments, each individual's level of hair loss was categorised using the Norwood scale for men and the Ludwig scale for women. Information as to how extensive each volunteer's hairloss was, was not made public, however.

No incidences of adverse reactions - side effects, from minimal to serious - were reported during the process.

Increased hair density was seen among the participants, with published results stating that all four achieving a mean 31 per cent gain in the number of hairs per square centimetre, when comparing their hair count and hair thickness from before the trial and at six months after the SVF treatment.

Whilst this data is certainly encouraging, the fact that only four people took part in the trial means there is not sufficient clinical evidence to make a true evaluation.

It is a good starting point for further investigation, with wider-ranging, larger-scale trials likely to give a more thorough picture from which to decipher whether or not this therapy has legs as a potential safe and effective genetic hair loss treatment for both men and women.

Furthermore, optimal doses, regularity of treatment and the amount of hair loss which it could treat would all need to be established, as well as whether it is best used on its own, or in addition to the existing MHRA-licensed and FDA-approved hair loss treatment options, currently available.

For now, anyone wanting to explore options for regrowing hair and preventing baldness is best advised to start by having a consultation with a specialist who can make tailored recommendations based on condition, level and pattern of shedding, as well as the individual's personal medical requirements.