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Androgenic alopecia is a genetically determined and leads to a progressive hair loss of the vertex, affecting both men and women. It is related to an important psychological and social distress. Medical therapies include topical minoxidil, oral 5?-reductase inhibitors and oestroprogestative drugs with anti-androgen effects for women. The surgical option is autograft hair transplantation. Recently, phototherapy with low-level energy lasers became available. All these treatments may present adverse effects and their effectiveness is questionable. Subcutaneous injections of autologous platelet-rich plasma into the scalp represent an interesting alternative treatment for androgenetic alopecia, as monotherapy or as an adjuvant treatment. The methodology, the possible mechanisms of action and some initial clinical results of this treatment are presented.

The importance of vitamin D in bone and phosphocalcic status is well recognized by the scientific and medical communities; however, recently identified properties of this cholesterol derived molecule, such as immunomodulator and anticancer activities, are yet discussed. Actually, the debate is not so much about the new vitamin D properties, but rather about the optimal concentration required to reach these properties. The difficulty in determining the norms is rendered even more complex by the existence of a vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism. The body pool of this vitamin depends essentially on its endogenous synthesis, but also on its dietary intakes. Many epidemiological studies interested in Vitamin D serum level and cancer suggest a relation between low Vitamin D level and cancer risk, especially in breast and colon adenocarcinomas. In vitro, many studies showed, in different human and animal malignant cell lines, that this molecule exerts anticancer activities: it induces apoptosis and cell differentiation as well as it inhibits proliferation and angiogenesis. This review tries to update the current knowledge on vitamin D and, more particularly, the potential interest of this molecule in cancer prevention and management.