Autologous Micrograft Technology (AMT) and Finasteride for the Management of Androgenic Alopecia - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Their Efficacy and Safety.

INTRODUCTION

Present treatment methods for the management of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) have shortcomings. Though recent studies suggest that autologous micrograft technology (AMT) may be an effective alternative, smaller samples sizes in these studies calls for using statistical methods to get pooled effect sizes.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the efficacy of AMT and finasteride in the management of AGA using a meta-analysis study, comparators being hair count and percentage of patients benefitting from the treatment.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (Reg. No: CRD42024578804). Databases searched for potential articles included PubMed, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, Cochrane, MEDLINE-OVID, Embase-OVID, Web of Science Core Collection, and Bielefeld Academic Search Engine.

RESULTS

This study suggests that AMT treatment may be a comparable alternative to ≥1 mg/day finasteride for the management of AGA. With regards to improvement in hair count, both AMT (Hedges's g=0.324, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.198-0.450; P<0.001) and finasteride (Hedges's g=0.251, 95% CI: 0.153-0.349; P<0.001) showed small effect sizes. When the percentage of patients who benefitted is considered, AMT had a medium effect size (Hedges's g=0.634, 95% CI: 0.372-0.896; Z-value=4.736; P<0.001), whereas finasteride had a small effect size (Hedges's g=0.201, 95% CI: 0.153-0.248; P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that AMT is an effective method for promoting hair growth in patients with stages 2-5 AGA. This study presents preliminary evidence that the efficacy of AMT is comparable to that of finasteride.