The Effect of Nanofat Injection on Androgenetic Alopecia

April 8, 2026 updated by: Marina Abdelmassieh Aiad Aboelsaad, Assiut University

Efficacy and Safety of Nanofat Injection vs Either PRP Injection or Topical Minoxidil 5% in Female and Male Pattern Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia is a condition that bothers a lot of people. The disadvantage of the FDA approved topical minoxidil is that the patient needs to be compliant every day for extended periods of time. This is the main reason why this study is being conducted, to see if a single nanofat injection is superior to applying either topical Minoxidil or PRP

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a genetically predetermined, progressive hair loss disorder characterized by the gradual miniaturization of terminal hair follicles into vellus-like follicles. It is the most common cause of non-scarring hair loss worldwide.The pathogenesis involves a shortened anagen (growth) phase and an increased telogen (resting) phase, primarily driven by the action of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on androgen-sensitive follicles in the scalp.

The clinical presentation of AGA is different in men and women. Typically, hair thinning in the frontotemporal areas, the recession of the frontotemporal hairline and hair loss in the vertex area occur in male androgenetic alopecia (MAGA). In female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA), hair thinning occurs over the frontal and parietal areas of the scalp (Ludwig type) or only in the central part of the frontal area (Olsen type, alternatively known as the "Christmas tree pattern"). Hair pull test help differentiate it from telogen effluvium.

The diagnosis of AGA is usually based on clinical appearance, but in doubtful cases, trichoscopy may help physicians to make a proper diagnosis and avoid other invasive diagnostic methods such as scalp biopsy. Key trichoscopic features include hair diameter diversity (HDD), where a variance exceeding 20% is considered diagnostic, and a predominance of single-hair units. Early stages of the condition are frequently characterized by the peripilar sign , while more advanced disease may present with honeycomb pigmentation, particularly in males with significant recession, or the presence of yellow dots, which are typically associated with late-stage follicular miniaturization.

Current therapeutic strategies focus on arresting hair loss progression and stimulating follicular regrowth through a combination of pharmacological and regenerative approaches, though they generally necessitate rigorous long-term adherence. Standard FDA-approved interventions include topical minoxidil, a potassium channel opener that prolongs the anagen phase but is often hampered by poor patient compliance, local irritation, and the requirement for lifelong, twice-daily application to maintain results, and oral finasteride, a Type II 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor that lowers systemic DHT levels. Beyond these primary treatments, the clinical landscape incorporates off-label options such as low-dose oral minoxidil, as well as adjuvant regenerative and combinatorial procedures including microneedling in conjunction with minoxidil, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for the injection of autologous growth factors to promote follicle survival, exosome therapy, and the application of nanofat and stromal vascular fraction (SVF) injections.

PRP has gained widespread use as a minimally invasive regenerative treatment. By concentrating autologous platelets, PRP delivers a "burst" of alpha-granules containing high concentrations of growth factors (e.g., PDGF, TGF-beta, and IGF-1) . These factors promote follicular cell proliferation and prolong the anagen phase. While PRP is effective, its results are often transient, typically requiring a series of 3 to 6 monthly sessions to maintain density

The emergence of nanofat has redefined the approach to follicle restoration. Unlike traditional fat grafting, nanofat is a liquid suspension obtained by emulsifying lipoaspirate, which filters out mature adipocytes while concentrating the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). Recent studies suggest that a single injection of nanofat can produce clinically significant increases in hair density and diameter within 3 months. In a study conducted outside of Egypt, trichoscopic evaluation of treated areas across all patients demonstrated a significant increase in hair density and thickness compared to control areas; these improvements became statistically and clinically evident at the 3-month follow-up. Parallel to these clinical findings, patient satisfaction exhibited a similar trend.Another study conducted within Egypt, clinical results demonstrated significant improvement as evidenced by comparative photographic analysis across the majority of the treated cohort, correlating with high mean patient satisfaction and minimal reported adverse effects .

Given the specific aesthetic importance of the temporal area and the limited data comparing single-intervention regenerative therapies with long-term topical treatments, this study aims to evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of a single nanofat injection versus daily 5% topical minoxidil in both male and female patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Marina Aiad Aboelsaad, Bachelor of Medicine and Surge
  • Phone Number: +201282347199
  • Email: marina.aiad16@gmail.com

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Asyut, Egypt
        • Assiut University
        • Contact:
          • Vice president of graduate studies of Assiut University
          • Phone Number: +2088 22080150
          • Email: vp_grad@aun.edu.eg

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • Adults (ages 18-50).
  • A clinical diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia confirmed by dermoscopy of both males and females.
  • No previous topical treatment used in the past 3 months.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis.
  • Cicatricial alopecia.
  • Other causes of hair loss such as immunological disease.
  • Skin disease in the affected area.
  • Hypersensitivity or allergy to any of the treatment products used.
  • Patients using treatment (topical or systemic) for androgenetic alopecia in the last 3 months.
  • Pregnant and lactating females.
  • Patients with a history of hypertrophic scars or keloid formation.
  • Patients with active infection at the site of the lesion.
  • Skin disease in the affected area.
  • Hamilton norwood scale stage 6 and 7
  • Ludwig Scale stage 3

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Topical minoxidil 5/
Patients will be taught how to apply topical minoxidil daily for three months
Drug: Minoxidil 5 %
Topical application of minoxidil 5%
Active Comparator: PRP injection
Patients will receive three PRP injections one month apart each
Procedure: PRP injection
3 PRP injections one month apart
Experimental: nanofat injection
Patience well receive single nano fat injection
Procedure: Nanofat injection
Single nanofat injection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Clinical improvement by using trichoscopy and photographs
Time Frame: All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.
Photographs using Hamilton norwood scale for males and Ludwig Scale for females
All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.
Trichoscopic improvement
Time Frame: All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.
Including hair diameter diversity
All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.
patient satisfaction score
Time Frame: All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.

It will be used for objective evaluation:

  • 0 to 25% change = not satisfied,
  • 26 to 50% = mildly satisfied,
  • 51 to 75% = moderately satisfied,
  • 76 to 100% = very satisfied.
All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Temporal Hairline Position
Time Frame: All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.
measuring the distance (in mm) from the lateral canthus to the most anterior terminal hair to track hairline "advancement."
All patients will be evaluated at Day 1 and at 6, 12 and 16 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Assiut University

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Hanan Ahmed Morsy, Professor Doctor, Assiut University
  • Study Director: Reham Maher Abdel Gaber, Doctor, Assiut University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 8, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Nanofat Androgenetic Alopecia

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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