ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND LEAD IN HAIR USING THE NUCLEAR MICROSCOPE - RESULTS FROM NORMAL SUBJECTS, AND PATIENTS WITH WILSONS-DISEASE AND LEAD-POISONING

We have recently developed a technique utilizing the nuclear microscop e to analyse accurately the trace element content of hair at concentra tions of ppm and to differentiate between the levels within hair and t hose due to surface contamination. Hair was analysed from four patient s with Wilson's disease (systemic copper overload), one patient with s ub-acute lead poisoning, and three control subjects, and the concentra tions and distributions of lead and copper across the hair shafts were shown. However, there was no increase in the copper content of hair f rom patients with Wilson's disease compared with those of normal subje cts, indicating that the high copper levels of many tissues in this di sease are not reflected in hair. In contrast, hair samples from the pa tient with lead poisoning showed maximum concentrations of 14 (+/-2) m u g g(-1), compared with normal levels of less than 1 mu g g(-1). Furt her, the composition of the hairs along the shaft reflected the tempor al changes of lead levels in the patient during lead elimination.