Faster results with combined therapy for striae distensae

(HealthDay)—Combination therapy with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and microdermabrasion is an effective treatment for striae distensae, according to research published online July 6 in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

Zeinab Abd El-Samad Ibrahim, M.D., of Tanta University in Egypt, and colleagues randomly assigned 68 patients with striae distensae to intradermal injection of PRP alone, microdermabrasion alone, or a combination of intradermal PRP and microdermabrasion in the same session. Each patient received up to six treatment sessions at two-week intervals.

The researchers found that, compared with microdermabrasion alone, PRP injection or combination therapy with PRP injection and microdermabrasion offered significant clinical improvement of striae distensae. Better results, in a shorter period of time, were achieved with a combination of PRP and microdermabrasion in the same session. At the end of treatment sessions, markedly increased collagen and elastic fibers in the dermis were observed. Each type of treatment was well tolerated.

"Platelet-rich plasma alone is more effective than microdermabrasion alone in the treatment of striae distensae, but it is better to use the combination of both for more and rapid efficacy," the authors write.