Regen PRP uses your own blood platelet cells to regenerate your skin and body from within.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy helps kick-start the body’s natural processes that stimulate healing, repair and tissue strengthening, effectively reversing signs of ageing from within.
With a history spanning decades in the medical industry, PRP is a regenerative and rejuvenating procedure with countless options for application. It has been used to combat autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s syndrome; in sports medicine for treating injured joints and muscles; and now – thanks to companies such as Regen Lab PRP who were first to market in the cosmetic medicine field eight years ago – PRP has entered the cosmetic anti-ageing arena as a ‘natural’ way to rejuvenate and beautify skin.
PRP can be used to treat a number of different concerns, including pigmentation, sagging skin, fine lines, scarring and uneven skin tone. ‘I’ve been using Regen PRP since 2008 and have found a wide range of patients benefit from this treatment,’ says Dr Georgina Konrat from Brisbane Cosmetic Clinic. ‘I’m treating concerns such as scarring from acne or trauma, ageing and sun-damaged skin, vaginal atrophy symptoms, and even hair loss.’
‘I primarily use it for the face, décolletage and arms, to address ageing skin and sun damage,’ she continues. ‘PRP treats these conditions by restructuring and regenerating the skin from within.’
The procedure involves extracting a sample of the patient’s blood, centrifuging this sample to concentrate the blood’s platelets and then re-injecting the concentrated solution into the treatment area.
Once the PRP is injected into the body, the platelet-rich solution works to kickstart the body’s cellular processes, stimulate collagen production, skin cell turnover and invigorate the area with stem cells and growth factors. Treatment with PRP is used to regenerate tissue, initiate vascular growth, induce cell differentiation and recruit other cells to help rejuvenate the area.
‘Patients are very attracted to the idea of using their own plasma to regenerate and restructure their skin and tissues. The results thus far have been very pleasing. Also, because we are using the patient’s own cells, there is no risk of allergy, and with an experienced professional performing the treatment, there are few risks or complications associated with this procedure,’ says Dr Konrat.
PRP offers a great option for younger patients seeking to reduce the early signs of skin ageing, but it is also ideal for older patients to incorporate Regen PRP with other treatment modalities to achieve even greater results. ‘In our practice, PRP is typically performed in combination with either fractionated laser resurfacing or microneedling with radiofrequency for enhanced results,’ says Dr Konrat.
‘Depending on the patient’s condition, regular PRP is a wonderful way to maintain the health and integrity of the tissues. The results are permanent, in that permanent restructuring and regeneration occurs; however, skin and tissues will continue to age with time. The treatment, although a little uncomfortable, is well tolerated. Downtime is usually minimal and this makes PRP a very attractive treatment option.’
Regen PRP for gynaecology
Platelet-rich plasma is a regenerative and rejuvenating procedure with seemingly endless options for application. One such application is in the field of gynaecology. Regen PRP can be effective in repairing, rehydrating and stimulating collagen in the vaginal walls. It is also used for restoring vaginal muscle tone, boosting the strength of the vaginal skin and assisting in optimal lubrication.
‘PRP represents a great advance in complementary therapy for the treatment of vaginal atrophy symptoms,’ says Dr Konrat. ‘I have an extensive surgical practice of labiaplasty surgery (using my own ‘DOVE’ technique), and I have adopted Regen PRP treatment to assist with the regeneration of vaginal mucosal atrophy in a significant number of patients. The patients who particularly benefit from PRP are peri- and post-menopausal patients, as well as patients who have undergone or are undergoing surgical or medical menopause.’
‘We are in the early stages of using PRP in this combination, but we are very pleased with the results thus far,’ she continues. ‘This is an example of the potential role of growth factors, stem cells and stem cell stimulants in the future of cosmetic medicine and cosmetic surgery.’
Regenerative medicine is critical to the future of medicine in many fields, and cosmetic medicine and surgery is just one aspect of research and development in this area. ‘For cosmetic medicine and surgery, PRP has an important future, both in its own right and in combination with other therapies,’ says Dr Konrat.
Regen PRP for hair loss
Regen Lab is tackling hair loss from all fronts. By boosting scalp health, accelerating hair regrowth and promoting regeneration of the hair follicle, Regen PRP is both a restorative and preventative measure against hair loss. Most importantly, it’s also natural, homogeneous and non-surgical.
Sydney hair transplant surgeon Dr Johnathan Chan has been using Regen PRP treatment alongside surgical hair transplant procedures for the past two years. He explains it can achieve effective results both as a standalone and conjunctive procedure.
‘One patient, a 53-year-old gentlemen, presented to me hoping to thicken his thinning hair with surgery,’ says Dr Chan. ‘I suggested trying Regen PRP to rescue as much hair as possible, and then use surgery to thicken up any areas that did not respond. In the end, the PRP-treated area became much thicker, beyond what we initially expected. Because of this, the patient only needed a small hair transplant, just to make the hairline perfect. This wouldn’t have been possible if he didn’t have so much hair restored by PRP.’
Once PRP is injected into the treatment site, the concentrated blood platelets release proteins called growth factors, which communicate with the body’s cells to trigger natural regenerative processes. ‘PRP provides a concentrated dose of growth factors to stimulate tissue repair and rejuvenation,’ explains New Zealand cosmetic physician Dr Paul Nola, who has been using PRP to treat hair loss since 2008. ‘Hair follicles respond to these growth factors and can reactivate if resting, or grow thicker, healthier hair if active. Treatment has been shown to hasten reversal of alopecia areata and to slow or temporarily reverse male and female pattern hair loss.’
Although there are several PRP systems on the market, RegenLab PRP has a unique centrifugation process. Designed to yield the optimal concentration of blood platelets, Regen PRP gives the physician the options to increase the platelet concentration to four times the patients baseline if needed. PRP is totally autologous; the patient’s plasma is harvested within five minutes and then injected immediately back into the patient, without any extra manipulations or incubations to the patient’s PRP.
‘Regen is an easy-to-use system that is cost- and time-effective for the patient,’ Dr Chan explains. ‘The PRP concentration can be easily adjusted to tailor the treatment according to each individual patient.’
A thorough consultation process is required to establish the best treatment plan with Regen PRP. In some cases, Regen PRP is used alongside hair transplant surgery to achieve optimum results. The PRP treatment assists in recovery following surgery, and helps optimise hair growth following a hair transplant procedure.
‘The fact that PRP is a biological product means there is variability between individuals, in how many platelets they have and how effective their platelets and PRP will be in regrowing hair,’ Dr Nola explains.
‘I treat hair loss with multiple modalities, including Regen PRP, prescription medicine, supplements, lifestyle adjustments, needle rolling and light-based therapy. Anti-inflammatory tablets must be avoided for two weeks before PRP treatment, as they can disable platelet activity.’
As with any medical or cosmetic procedure, a thorough consultation between patient and practitioner is necessary. Generally, the healthier the patient, the better the results.
Commonly, a series of three treatments, four to six weeks apart, are performed to achieve the best result, however this can be altered according to the patient’s needs. ‘Every case is different, however, good results have been witnessed in many hair loss patients. Importantly, PRP triggers natural processes inside the scalp, which means effective results can be achieved with minimal risk and downtime. In fact, most patients return to work right after the procedure,’ Dr Chan concludes.
Is regenerative medicine the way of the future?
Regenerative medicine research:
• Investigates ways to help the human body repair, replace, restore and regenerate damaged tissues and organs
• Uses cells, genes or other biological building blocks, along with bioengineered materials and technologies
• Focuses on restoring the remarkable tissue regenerative capacity that all humans have before birth
Regenerative medicine scientists are asking:
• How do some human tissues (our skin, blood cells and lining of the digestive tract) naturally regenerate?
• What determines this ability of cells? What switches it on and off?
• How do newts re-grow their tail or limb, or fish regenerate their fins or heart? What biological and molecular processes make this happen?
• Do the parts of our bodies that do not regenerate (such as the brain and heart) retain a latent ability to regenerate?
Regenerative medicine could:
• Halt, reverse and prevent damage to vital organs such as kidneys, livers and even hearts
• Grow new vital organs for people with organ failure due to disease, injury or genetic conditions
• Treat and cure diabetes through stem cell therapies
• Reverse the effects of neuro-degenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease
• Stop the body attacking itself in auto-immune diseases including multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis
• Treat cancer by building on current stem cell therapies such as bone marrow transplants for leukaemia
• Prevent ageing
Regenerative medicine can involve:
• Regeneration of tissues by injecting or implanting regeneration-competent cells (usually derived from adult or embryonic stem cells)
• Protecting cells and tissue from damage due to disease or injury (eg, by preventing cell death)
• Inducing regeneration in tissue by recruitment of a patient’s own cells to the tissue or using proteins or gene delivery to stimulate cell division in the tissue
• Prevention of inflammation and scarring in tissues to better enable the use of these methods
