Platelet-rich Plasma Stimulates Collagen Type I Synthesis in the Human Skin: A Placebo-controlledin vivo Study

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is used in medicine as a source of autologous growth factors in different indications. At present, PRP is applied increasingly frequently in aesthetic medicine with the aim of skin revitalization. Until now, the mechanisms of PRP effects in healthy human skin treated with aesthetic goals have not been identified in detail. This study aimed to examine PRP effects on the synthesis of procollagen type I in human skin. This study was a prospective, single-center, single-dose, open-label, non-randomized controlled clinical study. The study was conducted on a group of 10 volunteers in whom forearm skin was injected with PRP, while the placebo control group received injections of 0.9% NaCl. Expression of procollagen type I was examined after 21 days using immunohistochemistry. The study demonstrated that skin fragments subjected therapy using PRP demonstrated a significantly higher expression of procollagen than that which was observed in placebo controls. The study demonstrated that PRP stimulated collagen expression in healthy human skin.