{"id":9688,"date":"2024-09-01T08:48:41","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T08:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/new-nhs-hair-loss-drug-could-make-life-so-much-easier\/"},"modified":"2024-09-01T08:48:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T08:48:42","slug":"new-nhs-hair-loss-drug-could-make-life-so-much-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/new-nhs-hair-loss-drug-could-make-life-so-much-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"New NHS hair loss drug ‘could make life so much easier’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"FAMILYFAMILY HANDOUT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Alicia Pylypczuk worked as an emergency doctor in Manchester but took her own life in February 2020 after battling depression triggered by alopecia<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Earlier this year a new drug to treat severe alopecia – an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss – was given the green light for NHS use. Some are keen to try it, others aren’t – and some even think it could potentially be life-changing.<\/p>\n

Alicia Pylypczuk was a gregarious A&E doctor who took her own life after years of struggling with depression triggered by alopecia.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now been four years since her death and Alicia\u2019s stepfather Alan Green is sure she would have taken the new medication.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old from Manchester started suffering from episodes of hair loss as a teenager, when studying for her A-levels.<\/p>\n

She was told by a dermatologist that little could be done to stop her alopecia, according to Alan, who believes the psychological effects caused a loss of identity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"FamilyFamily handout<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Alicia first suffered hair loss when she was a teenager studying for her A levels and then again when she was at university<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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\u201cShe was a very articulate, clever and dedicated doctor,\u201d says Alan.<\/p>\n

She loved spending time with friends and was musically talented, he adds, but the condition impacted the way she thought people saw her.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone told her without her wigs she was an extremely beautiful woman, but she didn\u2019t see that. She just saw it as ugly and unattractive – all of that started to affect the rest of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In February this year, a new drug, ritlecitinib, was recommended on the NHS in England and Wales<\/a> for the first time for patients aged 12 and over with severe alopecia.<\/p>\n

Months later in April it was approved for NHS usage in Scotland<\/a> and in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

Alopecia is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking hair follicles at the root of the hair, causing it to fall out.<\/p>\n

The treatment decreases the activity of the parts of the immune system involved in that inflammatory response.<\/p>\n

Evidence from clinical trials show nearly 25% of adults and adolescents taking the treatment, under the brand name Litfulo, saw significant hair regrowth which covered 80% or more of their scalp within 24 weeks.<\/p>\n

If the treatment had been available before Alicia died, she would have grasped the opportunity \u201cwith both hands\u201d, says Alan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very difficult to live in the mind of someone who has alopecia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people are aware of the problems people with alopecia go through – and more people need to speak about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"BBC<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Alopecia and Me<\/p>\n

A new drug aimed at encouraging hair growth for people with alopecia has been approved for use on the NHS in the UK – but is the treatment worth it for everyone?<\/p>\n

If you’re in the UK, watch on BBC iPlayer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"BBC<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Newcastle actor Sam McGregor recently moved to London with the ambition of launching his acting and writing career.<\/p>\n

But soon after moving to the capital he rapidly lost his eyelashes and eyebrows. Clumps of his hair started to shed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t ashamed,\u201d Sam explains. \u201cBut when you notice how pale your scalp is, you go ‘woah\u2019. There was that initial two-week period when I was not feeling great.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people associate you with no hair, they think it is something way more than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"CadenCaden Elliott<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sam McGregor’s theatre production follows common issues encountered by those with alopecia and coming to terms with hair loss<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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He says bald men are expected to act in \u201ccertain parts\u201d on TV, and he found himself asking: \u201cWhat is my casting bracket now?\u201d<\/p>\n

But then he realised he \u201cstood out more\u201d, and it ultimately became a unique selling point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became advantageous,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I was still very uncertain as to how it was all going to play out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Inspired to inform people about what it’s like to have alopecia, Sam created and performed a play about the condition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last August.<\/p>\n

His show Truly, Madly, Baldy tackled issues encountered by both men and women – as well as those coming to terms with sudden hair loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had a mixture of bad times and frustrating times,\u201d Sam explains.<\/p>\n

He’s heard offensive things, \u201cbut because I was comfortable in my hair loss I took it onboard and thought: I can write this down and do something with this later\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sam says he doesn’t like \u201csinging [his own] praises\u201d about what alopecia has done for him and feels like he’s in a minority.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall it got me work. My hair fell out and all of the work started to flood in. The play is about what can I give back, what can I do to make other people aware of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam says he knows people who have taken ritlecitinib and who have seen hair regrowth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great that it is out there and people can have a go at it,\u201d Sam explains. \u201cBut I personally won\u2019t take it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t ever say never, but I am happy with alopecia at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since her diagnosis at the age of 12, Megan McCready has learned to embrace her condition and now supports other young people going through the same thing<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Glasgow student Megan McGready has also learnt to embrace her condition and now supports other young people going through the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into high school, losing my hair was terrifying,\u201d Megan recalls.\u201d I was off so many days. It was awful and I was getting bullied a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was scared to touch my hair and I would be constantly going out in the bathrooms, seeing if I can fix it or seeing if it was noticeable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Without telling anyone, at the age of 13 years old, Megan took a pair of scissors and chopped and shaved the hair that she did have and for her it was a way of taking control of her situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt more free,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt more in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, alopecia made her change her long-term life plans.<\/p>\n

Megan wanted to go into sports coaching, but faced difficulties balancing sports with wearing wigs, which can lead to overheating, as well as painted-on eyebrows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"MEGANMEGAN MCGREADY<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Megan raises money on behalf of the charity Alopecia UK<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Megan has always kept up with alopecia treatment research, so was delighted to see ritlecitinib be accepted in April by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.<\/p>\n

She is up for trying the new treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new drug could potentially make my life so much easier,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting up in the mornings I don\u2019t have to worry about my eyebrows, I can just go out and enjoy myself or worry about overheating with my wig.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I did get my hair back, I would appreciate it more. The new drug is definitely going to be life-changing for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Though ritlecitinib has been approved for use by the NHS, few patients have been prescribed it.<\/p>\n

One month\u2019s worth of pills costs the health service just under \u00a31,000, and regular blood work is required to monitor progress.<\/p>\n

But Alicia\u2019s stepfather sees it as a huge move in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a prospect,\u201d Alan says. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how effective it will be – will it be effective for everybody?\u201d Alan asks.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime will tell. It is an opportunity for the alopecia community to have a bit of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you’ve been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the <\/b>BBC Action Line<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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FAMILY HANDOUT Dr Alicia Pylypczuk worked as an emergency doctor in Manchester but took her own life in February 2020 after battling depression triggered by alopecia Earlier this year a new drug to treat severe alopecia – an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss – was given the green light for NHS use. Some are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[2988,4919,3193,283,1608,144],"class_list":["post-9688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-drug","tag-easier","tag-hair","tag-life","tag-loss","tag-nhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9688"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9690,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9688\/revisions\/9690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}