New Temporary Clinics for Face to Face Review June, July 2020
Covid 19 has had a major impact on healthcare in the UK and it is likely to have a lasting effect for several months to come. All of the local private hospitals entered into contracts with the NHS to support the crisis. This effectively means that the NHS has...
Alopecia Areata Trial Update – ALLEGRO by Pfizer May 2020
We have now finished recruiting for the first of two clinical trials investigating JAK inhibitors in the management of Alopecia Areata being conducted by Pfizer. Our first patients are approaching the half way point of the study. In the UK there are 5 sites in...
Covid 19 May 2020
We are slowly emerging from the initial lockdown containment phase of managing the Covid 19 pandemic. The private hospitals facilities have been contracted to the NHS to help offload the main NHS hospitals. Our local NHS hospitals now have very few Covid positive...
Best thing since sliced bread? Greg Foot appraises Caffeine shampoo with Dr Farrant
The Radio 4 "Best Thing Since Sliced Bread" radio show and podcast with Greg Foot has looked at the claims made by the makers of Caffeine shampoos with the Queens hairdresser, Ian Carmichael and consultant dermatologist, Dr Paul Farrant. Some lab based in vitro...
Alopecia Areata Trial Update – ALLEGRO by Pfizer
Last week all the European principle investigators met in Berlin for an intense day of training before the clinical trials start for two JAK inhibitor studies being conducted by Pfizer. It has been a long time coming! In the UK there are 5 sites in Brighton,...
Hair Research Update Summer 2019
Research always takes a lot longer to get started than is planned, even if it is part of commercial pharmaceutical trial. You often hear of studies, get given a proposed start date, plan around this and then the dates get pushed back and then pushed further back...
Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia and Sunscreens
I am often asked about what causes Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia, FFA. Despite being described over 20 years ago now in 1994, we still do not know what causes this condition. We know it is increasing in frequency. We know there are familial cases and some recent genetics...
Low Level Laser Light for LPP – UPDATE
I've been in touch with the Spanish authors of the paper on using laser devices for LPP (see previous post) and the US makers of Hairmax laserband. The Spanish device used in the trial is not available in the UK. If you are using the Hairmax Laserband 82, available...
Could Low Level Laser Light Help Lichen Planopilaris or Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia?
About four years ago whilst at a research meeting in Miami I heard about an American dermatologist treating patients with scarring hair loss and inflammatory scalp conditions with low level laser light (LLLT). These are home use or salon based devices that are...
BHNS meeting in Glasgow March 2018
It was a great pleasure to attend and speak at the British Hair and Nail Society education meeting for consultants and trainees. It is a core purpose of the BHNS to improve knowledge and interest in conditions that are often overlooked in dermatology training and...
British Hair & Nail Society Meeting, Glasgow March 16th & 17th
I'm really looking forward to speaking at the BHNS hair course in Glasgow in a couple of weeks. The talk is written but needs shrinking down as trying to cram Male and Female Pattern Hair loss into 30 mins is a bit of a challenge. There is a great breadth of topics...
Research updates
Patients will often ask me if there are any studies or news about studies they may have taken part in. The pace of research can seem very slow. Many of my patients will have taken part in the Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia research looking at the potential genetic...