SODIUM AND CHLORINE LEVELS IN HAIR AND NAILS OF HEALTHY AND CYSTIC-FIBROSIS CHILDREN

This study reports sodium and chlorine values in mug/g, as determined by neutron activation analysis in washed hair and nails from healthy a nd cystic fibrosis children. The values thus determined in cystic fibr osis tended to be higher than those in controls, however statistical d ifferences were not significant (p > 0.01). Additional experiments wer e carried out for comparison between washed and unwashed samples of th e cystic fibrosis and control group and only the differences between w ashed and unwashed cystic fibrosis nails were significant (p < 0.01) i n both sodium and chlorine values. Analysis of a standard reference mi lk sample, A-11 from IAEA, for the elements mentioned above gave a goo d agreement with the certified values.