To PRP or not?

1071 Br J Sports Med December 2010 Vol 44 No 15 Was the Super Bowl XLIII really won by platelet-rich plasma (PRP)? In February 2009, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who suffered a medial knee ligament injury just a week before the big event, caught a pass which helped the Steelers win the Championship. Judging from the press clippings in the USA over the following week, it was PRP, which did it all! The injections jumpstarted the widespread use of PRP we now observe in the USA. Long before this, of course, PRGF (plasma rich in growth factors) had been introduced with much basic and some clinical research for maxillofacial surgery by Dr Eduardo Anitua in Vitoria, Spain. 1 After fi rst having published impressive results from his own research fi eld, his group followed up with the fi rst studies in sports medicine as well. 2 In 2007, Peter A M Everts from Eindhoven in The Netherlands defended his impressive thesis on ‘Autologous platelet-leucocyte enriched gel. Basics and effi cacy,’ 3 where he used the system to support soft tissue and bone healing. We urge users of PRP to read the original works by Anitua and Everts fi lled with historic and recent science on PRP. To PRP or not?