Effect of platelet-rich plasma combined with tranexamic acid in the treatment of melasma and its effect on the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, endothelin-1 and melatonin

Objective: To investigate the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with tranexamic acid (TXA) in the treatment of melasma and its effect on the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and melanin stimulating hormone (MSH).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 80 patients with melasma treated in our hospital from January 2020 to June 2021. Patients (n=38) in the control group received simple oral TXA treatment. Patients (n=42) in the study group received PRP combined with oral TXA treatment. We assessed the treatment effects on the serum biochemical index levels, the adverse reactions, and the recurrence rates in the two groups.

Results: The total efficacy of the study group (90.48%) was higher than that of the control group (73.68%) (p<0.05). After the treatment, the levels of serum VEGF increased and the levels of ET-1 and MSH decreased in both groups, but the changes in the study group were more pronounced than those in the control group (p<0.05). We found similar incidences of the adverse reaction in the study group (7.14%) and the control group (5.26%; p>0.05). The disease recurrence rates between the two groups three months after the treatment were similar (p>0.05). However, the disease recurrence rate in the study group (4.76%) was lower than that in the control group (21.05%) 6 months after treatment (p<0.05).

Conclusions: PRP combined with oral TXA can improve the treatment effect of TXA alone in the treatment of melasma, maintaining normal levels of VEGF, ET-1 and MSH, reducing disease recurrences.