title: Elevated hair copper level in idiopathic scoliosis: preliminary observations.
abstract: Hair samples were collected from 74 patients with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis and from 25 control children and were analyzed for content of the following minerals: copper, sodium, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, cadmium, calcium, and manganese. The hair copper level of the scoliotic children was significantly higher than that of the controls. The scoliosis mean was 6.5 micrograms/dl and the control mean was 3.6 micrograms/dl, P less than 0.025. There was no correlation between the amount of hair copper and the severity of the scoliosis. The authors suggest that copper may be a factor in the development of scoliosis since it is part of the lysyl oxidase enzymes that are required for cross-linking of collagen and elastin. Another connection is that postpubertal girls have higher copper levels than boys and also have a greater severity of scoliosis.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D003300:Copper