In the world of medical advancements, Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking technique that utilizes your body’s own natural resources to accelerate healing and rejuvenation. This blog post aims to shed light on the remarkable importance of PRP therapy, spanning from its fundamental principles to its diverse applications across various medical fields
1. Empowering Healing with Platelet-Rich Plasma:
Your blood is a complex fluid made up of many different components each tasked with a specific function in the body. One component is platelets. Platelets are small cell fragments, created in your bone marrow, that aid in healing by forming clots and releasing cytokines. Cytokines are proteins that recruit stem cells to an injury and signal them to differentiate into the same tissue cells as the injured area. Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) is created when we take all the platelets in a large volume of whole blood and concentrate them all into a small volume of plasma. This is accomplished using a centrifuge. A physician will start by drawing 60ml of your blood into a syringe and placing it into a special PRP tube and spin it for 2-3 minutes. Blood components all have different densities which causes them to separate into distinct layers when subjected to the forces of centrifugation. Plasma, which is mainly water is the lightest component and will separate to the top. Red blood cells are the heaviest component and will settle to the bottom. Platelets and white blood cells will settle towards the middle. The special PRP tube, like EmCyte’s Pure PRP, will allow the physician to draw off the top layer of plasma with the platelets suspended in it, leaving behind the red and white blood cells. She will then take that platelet plasma suspension and place it into a second tube for further centrifugation. This second centrifugation will drive all the platelets to the bottom of the tube. This allows the doctor to then pull off the top part of the plasma with no platelets in it, leaving a small amount of plasma (8-10ml) at the bottom that she will resuspend the platelets in by agitating. This will result in a 6-8x concentration of platelets over the baseline amount in your whole blood. When injected back into the body, this high concentration simulates the natural aggregation of platelets to an injured area and stimulates the healing response.
2. Enhanced Tissue Regeneration:
Platelets coordinate healing through growth factors such as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) which are proteins contained inside. When you concentrate platelets, what you are really doing is concentrating these growth factors so that you can place them into the site of an injury to begin the healing process. Endocrine signaling refers to the process of cell signaling across the entire body where stem cells are recruited to the site of the injury. Paracrine signaling refers to the process of cell signaling at the site of repair where stem cells are directed to differentiate into the cells necessary for tissue regeneration. The growth factors contained in platelets are responsible for both types of signaling. When PRP is created and injected into the injury site such as a chronic wound, torn ligament or other surgical site it stimulates and enhances the body’s natural capability to heal itself.
3. Orthopedic Advancements:
PRP has been used successfully in orthopedic procedures for many years. In fact, this was one of the first places it was used. We talked earlier about the growth factor VEGF; this is responsible for angiogenesis or the development of new blood vessels. Vascularization is one of the most important parts of bone healing. A common foot injury is a fracture of the 5th metatarsal bone. If surgery is required a podiatrist will implant a plate to fuse the bone back together. That said, this bone lacks vascularity and is very difficult to heal. Adding PRP to the procedure can increase the likelihood of a successful fusion by aiding in the vascular construction and increasing blood flow to the area during healing.
4. Aesthetic Revitalization:
A popular procedure is the PRP facelift, where physicians will inject PRP directly into the face to create a more natural look. Although there is no underlying injury present in this area, the introduction of highly concentrated platelets will stimulate a response where vascularization and collagen production will be stimulated eliminating the need for expensive fillers made from rooster comb or toxins that paralyze muscle.
5. Promising Dental Applications:
Dental implants first require an anchor to be fixated into your jaw before a new tooth can be placed. Often the bone in this area can be compromised so oral surgeons will go in and perform a bone grafting procedure to establish an appropriate base. They will use cadaver bone to fill the void and to act as scaffolding for new bone to grow around. Adding PRP to this procedure can greatly reduce the time required for new bone to form as well as improving the strength of that bone. Again, this is mainly due to the ability of PRP to create new vascularized pathways in an injured area.
6. Sports Medicine and Beyond:
If you follow professional sports, then it will come as no surprise to you that PRP has tremendous sports medicine applications. Many of these injuries involve minor tears of tendons and ligaments. Generally, these injuries require long periods of rest and physical rehabilitation. By placing PRP directly into the site of these injuries the body can be stimulated to begin to quickly repair the injury, reducing the amount of time to get back to play.
7. Minimizing Risks, Maximizing Benefits:
PRP is known as an autologous treatment, meaning the patient’s own body is supplying the treatment. This greatly reduces the risk of complications from PRP procedures. To maximize the benefit of this type of treatment it is important to find a physician who is not only skilled in PRP procedures, but also uses high quality commercially available FDA approved kits like EmCyte Pure PRP.
8. Future Prospects in Medical Science:
Studies are continually being published concerning the efficacy of PRP’s more traditional applications discussed in this article. However, since PRP is an autologous product that stimulates our own bodies natural ability to repair and regenerate new fields of study are constantly being explored. A quick search of the FDA’s clinical trials website shows PRP is currently being studied in fields ranging from the treatment of migraines to embryo quality in IVF, and androgenetic alopecia. The possibilities are endless.
Conclusion:
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy stands as a testament to the incredible potential of the human body to heal and regenerate itself. Its importance spans across medical disciplines, from orthopedics to aesthetics, offering a natural and holistic approach to health and well-being. As research continues to unfold and technology evolves, PRP’s importance in modern medicine is only set to grow, reminding us of the remarkable synergy between science and the body’s innate healing mechanisms.
Contact 5 Line Biologics anytime at 609-975-9884 or info@5linemed.com to learn more.