What is Plasmolifting PRP?

You have surely read or heard about the sensation caused by a new treatment called PRP being used by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Rafael Nadal, Tiger Woods, football players of the Pittsburgh Steelers and many other celebrities. But what is PRP therapy? PRP is the abbreviation of a treatment method based on platelet-rich plasma: It is the modern procedure that has proven to be effective in fighting a wide range of diseases.  This method allows to do much more than just heal sports injuries or rejuvenate the skin. In truth, it's still evolving and doctors are discovering more and more applications for PRP every day.

What is PRP used for?

PRP therapy was discovered in the 1970s and initially applied in dental surgery.  It has been found to aid wound healing after dental implants and root canal treatments. Open heart surgery has become the second area of application for the PRP procedure: Doctors have found out that this method eliminates the need for blood transfusions during surgery. By using PRP, doctors were able to accelerate the healing process, allowing patients to recover more quickly and with minimal risk of infection or complications. Currently, PRP injections are the most suitable treatment method for many different diseases. To give you an overview of what PRP therapy can heal, the list of common applications is as follows:

• Osteoarthritis and arthritis of the knee joint is effectively treated with PRP injections;
• PRP injections into the scalp reduce hair fall and stimulate the growth of new hair follicles;
• Face care: PRP rejuvenates the skin of the face and smoothes such signs of aging as bumps, wrinkles on the skin;
• Acne scars: PRP therapy not only erases facial imperfections such as scars resulting from surgeries and injuries, but also removes scars and traces of acne;
• The PRP method helps in wound healing after face lift and rhinoplasty. It helps ensure minimal scarring after these treatments;
• PRP injections help treat musculoskeletal injuries that occur, for example, during sports. This method is used in the treatment of injuries of shoulder, elbow, knee, heel, ankle, back, etc.;
• PRP therapy is used in correcting sexual dysfunction and urinary incontinence;
• The PRP method helps with lumbar back pain;

How is PRP obtained?

If you're worried about the composition of the PRP, we'll give you the all-clear right away. Doctors make platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from each patient's blood by taking a sample from their vein in their forearm. They collect the blood sample in a special sterile tube in which it does not clot. Then the tube is placed in a centrifuge where it is spun at high speed. The rotation separates the blood, with the erythrocytes settling at the bottom and the platelets collecting at the top. The platelets are subsequently resuspended in a specified volume of blood plasma and this mixture is then removed from the sample. This is ready-to-inject PRP that contains increased levels of platelets, cytokines, mesenchymal stem cells, growth factors, and other healing factors that the body naturally produces.

Composition of PRP

To understand how PRP therapy works, it is first important to understand each component of PRP. It may sound surprising, but PRP contains all the tools the body needs to heal wounds and repair tissues.

Platelets

Every time you get injured, platelets cause your blood to clot quickly and prevent further bleeding by effectively closing the wound.  Platelets provide the main scaffold of cells around which regenerates damaged tissue. These cells have the ability to transform any type of tissue that needs healing. Platelets contain two types of granules: Dense bodies (delta granules) and alpha granules. When platelets are activated, they release these granules, aiding the healing process.

Delta granules

 Delta granules cause a clot to form, which is seen when blood clots on a wound. They include:

- Adenosine triphosphate is the substance that stores the energy needed;

-  Adenosine diphosphate activates the platelets themselves, thereby initiating platelet aggregation;

- Serotonin is a natural relaxant that also reduces pain;

-  Potassium is an essential mineral for cell regeneration.

Alpha granules

Alpha granules promote wound healing because they contain so-called intercellular messengers such as growth factors and cytokines.

In general, granule wound healing occurs in three stages:

1. Inflammation: Visible swelling forms as blood rushes to the injury site;
2. Proliferation: New cells divide and grow rapidly to fill up a wound;
3. Remodeling: the cells from the proliferation phase are definitively remodeled into tissues to replace damaged tissues.

Other components of PRP:

• Vascular endothelial growth factors stimulate the growth of cells lining the inner surface of blood vessels;
• Epidermal growth factors cause skin regeneration;
• Transforming growth factors stimulate the formation of normal cells;
• Fibroblast growth factors stimulate the formation of the collagen layer and skin structure;
• Hepatocyte growth factors help repair liver cells;
• Insulin-like growth factors help form tissue and bones.