The Effect of Age and Gender on 37 Chemical Element Contents in Scalp Hair of Healthy Humans

Zaichick, Sofia; Zaichick, Vladimir

doi:10.1007/s12011-009-8456-0

Cited by 57 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…113 In other studies, Zn, Na and Pb were higher in boys, while Fe and Bi were higher for girls. 114 Other correlations with age for Ce, La and Th increasing with age were only significant for females and not males. 114 Other correlations with age for Ce, La and Th increasing with age were only significant for females and not males.…”

Section: Gendermentioning

confidence: 91%

Hair analysis as a biomonitor for toxicology, disease and health status

2011

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Hair analysis receives a large amount of academic and commercial interest for wide-ranging applications. However, in many instances, especially for elemental or 'mineral' analysis, the degree of success of analytical interpretation has been quite minimal with respect to the extent of such endeavors. In this critical review we address the questions surrounding hair analysis with specific intent of discovering what hair concentrations can actually relate to in a biogenic sense. This is done from a chemistry perspective to explain why and how elements are incorporated into hair and their meaning. This includes an overview of variables attributed to altering hair concentrations, such as age, gender, melanin content, and other less reported factors. Hair elemental concentrations are reviewed with regard to morbidity, with specific examples of disease related effects summarized. The application of hair analysis for epidemiology and etiology studies is enforced. A section is dedicated specifically to the area of population studies with regards to mercury, which highlights how endogenous and exogenous incorporation relies on species dependant metabolism and metabolic products. Many of the considerations are relevant to other areas of interest in hair analysis, such as for drug and isotopic analysis. Inclusion of a table of elemental concentrations in hair should act as a valuable reference (298 references).

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Section: Gendermentioning

confidence: 91%

Hair analysis as a biomonitor for toxicology, disease and health status

2011

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“…The spectrometer provided a resolution of 1.9 keV on the 60 Co 1332 keV line. Details of used nuclear reactions, radionuclides and gamma-energies were presented in our earlier publications concerning the INAA chemical element contents in human prostate and scalp hair [43,44].A dedicated computer program for INAA mode optimization was used [45]. All thyroid samples were prepared in duplicate and mean values of trace element contents were used in final calculation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Related-Changes-of-Trace-Element-Contents-in-Intact-Thyroid-of-Females-Investigated-by-Neutron-Activation-Analysis

Zaichick¹

2017

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IntroductionThe endocrine organs, including the thyroid gland, undergo important functional changes during aging and a prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is higher in the elderly as compared to the younger population [1,2]. Advancing age is known to influence the formation of adenomatous goiter and thyroid cancer [3]. The prevalence of thyroid nodules is increased in the elderly, reaching a frequency of nearly 50% by the age of 65 [4]. Both prevalence and aggressiveness of thyroid cancer increase with age [2]. Women are affected by thyroid nodule and cancer two to five times more often than men [2][3][4][5].Aging is a complex process involving biochemical and morphologic changes in single cells, in organs and in the whole organism. One of the most generally accepted explanations of how aging occurs at the molecular level is the oxidative stress hypothesis [6]. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are widely considered to be a causal factor not only in aging but in a number of pathological conditions, including carcinogenesis. Aging, considered as an impairment of body functions over time, caused by the accumulation of molecular damage in DNA, proteins and lipids, is also characterized by an increase in intracellular oxidative stress due to the progressive decrease of the intracellular ROS scavenging [7]. Oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules which induce cancer can also arise through overproduction of ROS and faulty antioxidant and/or DNA repair mechanisms [8]. Overproduction of ROS is associated with inflammation, radiation and some other factors, including overload of some trace elements, in both blood and certain tissues, or deficiency of other trace elements with antioxidant properties [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Studies have shown that the imbalance in the composition of trace elements may cause different types of pathology. The importance of appropriate levels of many trace elements is indisputable, due to their beneficial roles when in specific concentration ranges, while on the other hand they can cause toxic effects with excessively high or low concentrations [12].In our previous studies [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] the high mass fraction of Iodine (I) and some other trace element were observed in intact human thyroid gland when compared with their levels in non-thyroid soft tissues of the human body. However, some questions about the age-dependence of trace element mass fraction in thyroid of adult, and particularly, elderly females still remain unanswered. One valuable way to elucidate the situation is to compare the mass fractions of trace elements in young adult (the control group) with those in older adult and geriatric thyroid. The findings of the excess or deficiency of trace element contents in thyroid and the perturbations of their relative proportions in glands of adult and elderly females, may give an indication of their role in a higher prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in the elderly. The reliable data on trace element mass fractions in normal geriatric thyroid is apparently extremel...

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“…They also noted the lower Zn content in hair for chil dren and males over 60 years. An increase in Ce (cerium), La (lanthanum), Th (thorium), and Rb (rubidium) content in hair as well as a drop in Cl (chloride) content, depending on age, was proved by Zaichick and Zaichick [21], Other authors [22] reported decline in the concentration of Li in scalp hair with age. Moreover, these authors pointed out that the level of Li in hair can be very low, even un detectable for all age groups.…”

Section: Correlations Between the Contents Of Elements And Agementioning

confidence: 91%