May 25th, 2000
In this episode:
Alopecia Areata
Imagine waking up one day to find that one of your eyebrows is falling off; you later discover that you're also losing clumps of your hair. This actually happened to Kirstie Calkins of Kirkland at the age of 19. She has a medical condition called alopecia areata that causes sudden, rapid hair loss. The disorder is estimated to affect more than four million people in the United States. While it is not life threatening, its emotional impact can be devastating.
We meet Kirstie and find out how she's coping with alopecia areata, and we visit a local alopecia support group where we talk to Dr. Claire Haycox, a doctor specializing in alopecia areata. We also hear about a nonprofit organization called Locks of Love that provides custom-fitted hair prosthetics to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Made from real human hair donated by women and girls, the Locks of Love hairpieces are instrumental in helping children recover a sense of confidence and self-esteem. In the story we meet a local woman who is having her long hair cut off to donate to the organization.
For more information about Locks of Love visit their web site at www.locksoflove.org
If you'd like to find out more about the local alopecia support group featured on the show you can call them at 253.661.1499 or e-mail them at secretsXII@aol.com.
Alopecia areata is a poorly understood, highly unpredictable, autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. This disease affects approximately 2 percent of the population overall, including more than 4 million people in the United States. Alopecia areata usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth bald patches and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). In alopecia areata, the affected hair follicles become very small, drastically slow down production, and grow no hair visible above the skin's surface for months or years. The scalp is the most commonly affected area, but the beard or any hair-bearing site can be affected alone or together with the scalp. In some people, the nails develop stippling that looks as if a pin had made rows of tiny dents. However, other than the hair and occasionally the nails, no other part of the body is affected.
Although alopecia areata occurs in males and females of all ages and races, onset most often begins in childhood (60-65% of all cases) and can be psychologically devastating. There appear to be two forms of alopecia areata: an early-onset form (before the age of 30) and a late-onset form (after the age of 30). Those who develop their alopecia areata before the age of thirty usually have a poorer prognosis; this early-onset form is usually chronic and life-long. In one out of five persons with alopecia areata, someone else in the family also has it. Patients with alopecia areata and their families have a higher incidence of other autoimmune disorders such as thyroid disease, early-onset diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, vitiligo, and lupus. In addition, patients and their families are more likely to suffer from asthma, hay fever, and atopic eczema.
At the present time, treatment options are limited and are not universally effective; there is no cure for alopecia areata. Treatment options include cortisone injections or pills, topical application of minoxidil or chemical substances that induce an allergic rash or contact dermatitis; however, these treatments are generally not effective for those with total scalp hair loss.
In recent research privately funded by the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, there has been verification that a patient's own T lymphocytes (a major class of white blood cells which are a vital part of the immune system) attack the hair follicle and suppress hair growth, the most compelling evidence that alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. Identification of the molecular target of the T cell attack that induces alopecia areata would make possible the development of specific immunotherapies.
For more information, please contact the National Alopecia Areata Foundation by phone at 415.456.4644, by e-mail at info@naaf.org, or visit the foundation's web site at www.naaf.org.
Related Links: A "Locks of Love" event in Federal Way, Washington www.locksoflove.federalway.net
Alopecia Areata (Seattle site with collected links) www.scn.org/~dcv/alopecia.html
Alopecia Areata: Understanding and Coping with Hair Loss (Book) www.dermatology.org/skincare/hair/aa_book.htm
Race and Police Relations in Seattle
Host Enrique Cerna moderates a studio discussion about the tension between the Seattle Police Department and Seattle's minority community a situation underscored by the controversy surrounding the police shooting of African American David John Walker last month. Guests include James Kelly, executive director of the Urban League of Seattle and retired Seattle Police Sergeant Howard Monta. They discuss police accountability, and what can be done to improve relations between the Seattle Police Department and minority communities.
Related Links: Sgt. Howard Monta has written a book titled Cops Who Succeed. To order this book, contact his publisher by sending an e-mail to graduategroup@hotmail.com or send conventional mail to: Graduate Group P.O. Box 370351 West Hartford, CT 06137 Study Circles Over the last six weeks, 27 community members and nine Seattle Police Officers have been meeting in what are called "study circles" to discuss race and police relations in Seattle. Producer Susan Han attends a discussion about the effectiveness of the "study circles" and talks to a Seattle Police Officer about what the study circle experience has been like for him. Study Circles are comprised of a coalition of the Seattle Police Department, Community Policing Action Council and a team of volunteers from Leadership Tomorrow Class of 2000. They currently launched a pilot program to address the issue of community/police relations in the context of racism. The program is based on the small group, democratic dialogues known as "study circles." It is modeled after successful programs already established in a number of communities around the country. Their vision is to improve the effectiveness of community and police relations through a greater understanding and acceptance of differing races and cultures throughout Seattle and through a greater understanding and acceptance of the role of police in our communities. Their mission is to provide the community with an effective model for a study circles program that can be used to seek practical recommendations for actions that will address the issue of community police relations and racism. Their goal is to implement the study circles approach to addressing community/police relations in the context of racism and to expand our coalition of community and neighborhood partners. The coalition will help involve all the diverse neighborhoods and communities of Seattle in a broader study circles program. Their strategy is: * Recruit community leaders and SPD personnel to participate in the pilot program. * Use information provided by the Study Circles Resource Center to develop written materials that will provide a framework for the study-circle dialogue. * Identify meeting sites and arrange for the details of individual study circles. * Identify and train study circle facilitators with assistance from SCRC * Draw on feedback from the pilot program to create the foundation for a broader group of study circles. For more information on study circles, please contact Robin Boehler at 206.684.0212. Mental illness frequently deepens tragedy of police shootings; deadly response to David Walker's erratic behavior mirrors statistics Seattle P-I, May 25, 2000 The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle in the 21st Century by James Kelly, President & CEO