title: Calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, silicon and zinc content of hair in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: The aetiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is still unknown, but some hypotheses have focused on the imbalances in body levels of metals as co-factors of risk. To assess whether hair could be a reliable marker of possible changes, calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) were determined in hair from 81 patients affected by PD and 17 age-matched controls. Care was taken to eliminate external contamination of the hair by thorough washing. Digestion of the matrix was achieved by an acid-assisted microwave procedure. Quantification of the elements was performed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Results indicated significantly lower levels of Fe in the hair of patients (p=0.018) compared with controls. Ca and Mg levels were slightly lower while Zn levels were higher in patients, although these differences were not significant; neither were variations in Cu and Si. Ca and Mg were at least 1.5 times higher in females than in males in both controls and patients. In addition, Ca correlated positively with Mg in both groups and in both sexes (p-value always less than 0.03), and negatively with age in patients (p<0.01). Finally, element levels did not correlate with either the duration or the severity of the disease or with anti-Parkinson treatment.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Ambiente e Connessa Prevenzione Primaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alimonti
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Violante
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Gregorio
authors.forename: Oreste
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Senofonte
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sancesario
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bocca
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000379:methods*; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012825:Silicon / Q000032:analysis*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014131:Trace Elements; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements; D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium; D012825:Silicon