A Review of Platelet-Rich Plasma: History, Biology, Mechanism of Action, and Classification

Abstract

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is currently used in different medical fields. The interest in the application of PRP in dermatology has recently increased. It is being used in several different applications as in tissue regeneration, wound healing, scar revision, skin rejuvenating effects, and alopecia. PRP is a biological product defined as a portion of the plasma fraction of autologous blood with a platelet concentration above the baseline. It is obtained from the blood of patients collected before centrifugation. The knowledge of the biology, mechanism of action, and classification of the PRP should help clinicians better understand this new therapy and to easily sort and interpret the data available in the literature regarding PRP. In this review, we try to provide useful information for a better understanding of what should and should not be treated with PRP.

Keywords: Autologous therapy; Biology; Mechanism of action; Plasma; Platelet-rich plasma.

Fig. 1

After centrifugation, the blood components (red blood cells [,]leukocytes, and platelets) are separated from the plasma due to their different densities. The platelets have the lowest density. Adapted from Dohan Ehrenfest et al. [38].