The aim of this work is to propose a new analytical technique based on UV–visible fluorescence as an alternative to x-ray absorptiometry for diagnosing osteoporosis, as well as its early stage by identifying osteopenia. The equipment used consists of very cheap equipment compared to x-ray scanners with an LED as the excitation source. In this work, we analyzed 90 hair samples taken from volunteers of different ages at Habib Thameur Hospital in Tunis. These samples were previously analyzed by bone mineral density (BMD) and correspond to people suffering from osteoporosis and osteopenia, as well as healthy people. The main idea of this study is to show the correlation between the deficiency of bone density given by BMD and the variations of the relative concentrations of molecules present in the hair causing the changes observed in the fluorescence spectra. The results extracted from the spectra show a clear discrimination between healthy and sick patients and a very good correlation, in a Spearman sense, between the spectral measurements and the BMD’s data for the patients with osteoporosis. In addition, we have isolated the main spectral region responsible for this correlation, which facilitates the identification of the molecule concentrations related to the decrease in BMD.
The use of UV-visible fluorescence of hair as a promising technique for a simple and rapid preliminary diagnosis of osteoporosis was proposed recently by us. The molecules proposed as potential markers in that work were keratin, elastin as well as vitamin D and A whose fluorescence occurs in the vicinity of an emission peak located around 485 nm. The aim of the work presented here is to confirm these preliminary results. For that, new measurements based on the LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) technique were performed on the same samples and focused on monitoring the evolution of calcium concentrations in hair in relation to the disease. The results showed a strong correlation between the evolution of calcium concentrations and the fluorescence peak located around 485 nm. This new finding highlighted the important role that the calcium-containing protein S100A3, which is abundantly present in the hair cuticle, may play on the fluorescence spectrum.
Rapid and early detection of pathologies for screening purposes is not always easy with traditional methods. New low-cost optical techniques that are suitable for preventive detection and, more specifically, for developing countries must be developed. The objective of this work is to propose UV-VIS fluorescence of hair as a promising technique for a simple and rapid preliminary diagnosis of type II diabetes. In this work, we analyzed 130 hair samples taken from volunteers of different ages at the Habib Thameur Hospital in Tunis, Tunisia. These samples were analyzed clinically beforehand, and 50 were classified as healthy acting as a control, 24 were classified as low-level diabetics with a glycated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c)
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