WEDNESDAY, 11 APRIL 2018 / PUBLISHED IN BLOG
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) has a proven record for healing soft tissues and other living tissues. But can it actually heal bones? This could mean PRP, when applied to an affected area such as an elbow joint, knee, or backbone area, heals everything within its reach, including bones. Is that really why PRP works? Let’s examine.
Platelet-Rich Plasma for Bone Healing
Bones are not just lifeless matter attached to living tissues. They are as much living as the tissues themselves and are constantly changing. Old bone cells are broken down and replaced with new ones in a three-part process called bone remodeling. This involves resorption (digestion of old bone cells), reversal (birthing of new cells), and formation (new cells turn into fully formed bones).
This process, like other biological processes in the body, requires hormones and growth factors. Some of these include parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitriol, insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), prostaglandins, tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), and cytokines. For this discussion, we need to remember only one thing: a large number of cytokines and growth factors are involved in the bone remodeling process. This means we can accelerate the bone remodeling process by supplying these cytokines and growth factors as suggested by various studies.
Why Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), being completely “whole and natural,” can more closely simulate a highly efficient in-vivo situation than anything else made up of artificial recombinant proteins. In PRP, we take advantage of the biological benefits of growth factors whose functions we know as well as those we do not know yet. From the 15+ factors we know are in PRP, including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), platelet factor 4 (PF4), interleukin 1 (IL-1), platelet-derived angiogenesis factor (PDAF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived endothelial growth factor (PDEGF), epithelial cell growth factor (ECGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), osteocalcin (Oc), osteonectin (On), fibrinogen (Fg), vitronectin (Vn), fibronectin (Fn), and thrombospontin-1 (TSP-1), we’re supplying a “holistic” set of nutrients for healing that cannot be mimicked by those obtained artificially.
PRP: Organic Fertilizers for the Body
The difference with PRP is akin to adding chemical fertilizers versus organic fertilizers to plants. Chemical fertilizers are rich in essential nutrients that we know are needed for crops. On the other hand, organic fertilizers supply nutrients not only to the plants but also to the soil, improving the soil structure and tilth, water-holding capacity, reducing erosion, and promoting slow and consistent release of nutrients to the plants. Clearly, organic fertilizers are better, aren’t they?
Platelet-Rich Plasma is like organic fertilizers for our body.
Bonus: Strong Antimicrobial Properties
PRP’s healing function also has synergistic antimicrobial properties. A new study confirms that using Platelet-Rich Plasma in surgeries may have the potential to prevent infection and reduce the need for costly post-operative treatments. That’s a nice bonus for the organic fertilizer of our bodies. Perhaps there are more benefits to discover.
Conclusion
The scope of Platelet-Rich Plasma is growing as the scientific community continues to unearth its inherent properties. PRP is an unignorable and unavoidable component of healing.
