Associate Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgical Science, Medical School, "Tor Vergata" University, Rome, 00133, Italy. Scientific Director of Academy of International Regenerative Medicine & Surgery Societies (AIRMESS), 1201 Geneva, Switzerland. Top Italian Scientists (H-Index >30). Institute of Dermatology, F. Policlinico Gemelli IRCSS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, 00168 Italy; simgarko@yahoo.it.
BACKGROUND An increasing interest in maintaining a youthful appearance has led to the development of innovative and non-invasive aesthetic procedures for the treatment of facial aging as the recent use of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP). OBJECTIVES This article aims to review the literature and critically appraise the available evidence regarding the efficacy of autologous activated PRP (AA-PRP) and/or not-activated PRP
(ANA-PRP) injection used for facial rejuvenation. METHODS A systematic review regarding the clinical use of AA-PRP and ANA-PRP injection in facial rejuvenation against signs of aging was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, PreMEDLINE, Ebase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Clinicaltrials.gov, Scopus, and Cochrane databases. The protocol was developed following the Preferred Reporting for Items for Systematic Reviews-Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. The included studies had to match predetermined criteria according to the PICOS approach. RESULTS Eleven of the twelve studies identified, including three randomized split-face trials, showed improved results despite differences in study design and outcome measures, many of which were subjective. CONCLUSIONS Further randomized controlled trials and related systematic reviews, as evidence-based medicine (EBM) studies of level 1 are required to confirm PRP injection efficacy in facial rejuvenation, to consolidate the promising results of the studies identified in this systematic review.
