Melasma is a commonly acquired hypermelanosis, with variably successful therapies and frequent relapse. Platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) is a promising treatment of melasma – alone or combined with other therapeutic modalities. 

A new study published in Dermatologic Therapy evaluated the efficacy of autologous PRP in melasma treatment and the effect of combined intense pulsed light (IPL). 

In this study, 20 Egyptian female melasma patients were enrolled. PRP was injected in all melasma area and IPL was used on the right side of the face. 

It was noted that the Melasma Area and Scoring Index (MASI) of the melasma area, modified-MASI (mMASI) of PRP-IPL side and of the PRP side, significantly decreased after treatments. There was no statistically significant difference between both sides regarding mMASI score or patient and physician satisfaction. 

This study provided the first comparison between PRP versus its combination with IPL in melasma treatment. The findings showed an improvement of melasma with regression of melasma scores after PRP treatment.

Source: Dermatologic Therapy. 2021 May 26;e15008. doi: 10.1111/dth.15008.