New drug gives hope to patients in Wales and England

A woman who has suffered from alopecia since she was 13 said that by posting her experiences online she is now “more open and honest” about her hair loss.

Nicole Thomas, 28, from Cardiff, was successfully treated in her teens but began losing her hair again last year.

She said she had “learned to cope with the illness” but it was “still getting harder every day.”

Beginning of the year new drug was recommended in the NHS in England and Wales for the first time for patients aged 12 years and over with severe alopecia areata.

Alopecia is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the hair follicles at the hair root, resulting in hair loss.

Looking back on the time after the diagnosis, Ms Thomas said: “You don't expect to see a 13-year-old girl with thinning hair or no hair at all. It made school life really difficult for me.”

“I lost a lot of friends, I couldn’t talk to my family about it.

“I found it really hard to leave the house and since I couldn't go to school anymore, I even taught myself my GCSE exams in my bedroom.”

After Ms. Thomas noticed that she was starting to lose her hair again about a year ago, she decided to share her experience on social media.

“I knew I had to make a decision. Either I stayed quiet and hid again or I started to be more open and honest about my hair loss.”

“It has given me a lot of comfort to be able to identify with other people, and I hope that by sharing my story, my feelings and my journey with them, I have been able to give some comfort to other people as well.”

Although there is no long-term cure for the disease, the new drug ritlecitinib, also known by the brand name Litfulo, is now available in Wales.

Dermatologist Dr. Megan Samuel said the new drugs offer hope and are “very promising for people suffering from alopecia.”

She said the treatment promoted hair growth and worked in a way that “prevents the immune system from attacking the hair follicles.”

She added: “Some people suffer from this disease for the rest of their lives.

“This could help people get the cure they have been waiting for.”

Ms Nicole said the new treatment could “change the lives of many people in our community”.