1- What are really the platelet growth factors, also known as platelet rich plasma?

A growth factor is a biological sign that stimulates or inhibits a cellular function. In general, they are proteins that promote tissue development and repair. The platelet rich plasma (PRP) is obtained through the patient’s blood after concentrating and breaking the platelets, which release the growth factors that they contain.

 

2-  How are they obtained?

The process involves the collection of venous blood from the patient that undergoes centrifugation to obtain platelet rich plasma. This procedure is performed under maximum sterile conditions and with all required guarantees. The preparation time ranges from 20 to 30 minutes and depending on the method used,  platelets can be concentrated from 2 to 10 times in relation to the typical baseline platelet count.

 

3- Are all PRP currently used the same?

No, the resulting product depends on the preparation process. These processes clearly determine different proportions of erythrocytes, mesenchymal peripheral cells and serum protein. Another interesting data is the presence of leukocytes, since their number directly depends on the process the blood has undergone.

 

4- How do PRP work?

A growth factor is a biological signal that stimulates or inhibits a certain cellular function. In general, these molecular signals are peptides that promote the cell proliferation, differentiation, chemotaxis and migration of various cell types and as a result, they contribute to the development of the extracellular matrix and thus, the tissues.

The growth factors act on the cellular shape and diferentiation although most of them take peart in their proliferation.

PRP is rich in PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor), although there are many other growth factors that help the tissue repair and cicatrization.

 

5- Could we state that they regenerate tissues?

Tissues are repaired through the creation of a transition tissue that forms a scar. A muscle, tendon or ligaments have a repair process very similar to the one that occurs with skin wounds. At the beginning, there is an inflammation, with the arrival of many blood vessels a blood clot is formed and this releases cells and cellular signals that trigger a sequence of processes that end up forming a scar. 

PRPs help the tissue repair shortening the time needed and improving the scar quality.

Nowadays, we cannot state the the growth factors regenerate tissues, however, they lead to an improvement in the tissular repair process by shortening the time needed and improving the outcome quality.

 

 6- Are they a solution for arthrosis?

Their effect on the arthrosis evolution hasn’t been proved. PRPs have a very strong anti-inflamatory effect that can improve the arthosis simptoms, helping patients to restore a normal life. In some cases, PRPs help prolongue joint life, thus postponing their prosthetic replacement.

 

7- Do they improve injuries and help surgical repair?

They are indicated in non-surgical treatment of tendon and ligament injurie, as well as they have been used in muscle injuries, improving the repair quality and shortening the recovery time needed. Also, they help in the repair of tendon surgeries, such as the shoulder cuff rotator tear, anterior crossed ligament, meniscal repairs and  articular cartilage repair, improving the outcome in our surgeries and shortening the recovery period.

Revising medical literature, we observe that the best results are achieved in the closing and healing of torpide wounds or in diabetic patients or patients suffering from poor irrigation.

 

8- Are they a safe procedure?

Absolutely. The elaboration process is FDA approved (Food and Drug Administration). American FDA is one of the most reliably and prestigious authorities in regard to the assessment of medical procedures at a wordlwide leve. Moreover, many multinational companies of medical technology are requirements compliant  (ARTHREX, DE PUY, BIOMET).

 

9- Are they needed in all surgery procedures?

Not at all. Obviously, not all surgeries require the use of growth factors, and not using them doesn’t make those surgeries less effective. In any case, it is at the surgeon’s judgement to decide whether their use will improve the surgical repairs. There are many studies that show a better recovery of injuries that have been treated with PRP.

 

10- Can they replace an operation?

Not at all, they can be a complement on the surgical operations. The growth factors will no make a badly planned or a wrongly diagnosed operation succeed. In all cases, the medical judgement must prevail, using the growth factors in those cases that have been proved succesful according to the medical literature. The growth factors are nowadays a very powerful resource to treat our patietns, but the research on their application is in continous development. All in all, we can confirm that if their current situation is excellent, the future use in different pathologies will be even better.

Check out the Bibliography on growth factors >>