Will PRP and Laser Therapy help with my hair growth if I have discoid lupus and am taking Plaquenil and Rogaine 5%?

Question

I've been suffering from thinning hair and my hair falling out increasingly over the past few years. I just had a scalp biopsy done and turns out I have discoid lupus. This was after I purchased a laser hair therapy cap and 4 PRP treatments for over $5,000. I was just started on oral medication for it, Plaquenil. I have also been using Rogaine 5% for over a year. Will the laser therapy and PRP still help me with hair growth if I have discoid lupus? I don't have any lesions/rashes, just hair loss.

Alexander Golberg, MD, DO · Answer

Thank you for your question. PRP will still assist you with your hair loss – despite your diagnosis of discoid lupus. In fact, PRP has been shown to assist with the inflammation associated with this condition. Increasing blood flow and healing to the affected areas will help to reduce the symptoms, but hair follicles that have been damaged may not re-grow hair. PRP can be safely used with other hair-loss treatments, so you should see results from this method. I wish you luck with your treatments.

Jeff Rapaport, MD · Answer

Recent  Studies have shown that PRP can be helpful with inflammatory scarring Alopecia such as Discoid Lupus. PRP is used as  part of combination therapy with other medications such as plaquenil,naloxone, steroids and doxycycline. Follicles that are scarred will not return but inflammation can decrease. Minoxidil,topically or orally,  is helpful.. Studies have shown that low level laser is safe and helpful to use with discoid lupus.
Jeff Rapaport MD FAAD
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Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

There is no good evidence that PrP or laser help discoid lupus. I would encourage you to see a dermatologist who specializes in these conditions. Plaquenil is a good starting option and other options like topical and intralesional steroids might be considered too. Other options are available besides Plaquenil if it proves ineffective. One needs to take into account the koebner phenomenon and the possibility that injections from PRP worsen the disease. There are many unknowns here because PRP and laser have never been studied to any reasonable degree in discoid lupus.

Sagar Patel, MD · Answer

I would say that there is no guarantee the PRP will help but I personally believe it has a good chance of working and will not HURT the hair. I'm based in Beverly Hills and those prices you were quoted at very expensive. We use top of the line PRP extraction kits and for the same treatment we charge almost half that price. See if you can get a refund. 
In the meantime check out the MasterClass I created below.

Will PRP and Laser Therapy help with my hair growth if I have discoid lupus and am taking Plaquenil and Rogaine 5%?

Answers (4)