Nutritional assessment using stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in the scalp hair of geriatric patients who received enteral and parenteral nutrition formulas

Levels of major and trace metals in the scalp hair of Crohn's disease patients: correlations among transition metals

Concentrations of 16 metals in the scalp hair of male Crohn's disease (CD) patients (n = 28) were compared to those of male control subjects (n = 25). The majority of patients (n = 20) took an anti-inflammatory agent (mesalazine), and several patients underwent colectomy. A low concentration of serum ferritin was observed in approximately 50% of CD patients due to Fe-deficiency anemia. The concentrations of Fe, Cr, and Co in the hair of CD patients were significantly higher than those of control subjects, and particularly high concentrations were found in CD patients with low serum ferritin. Significant correlations were found among the concentrations of Fe, Cr, and Co in the hair of CD patients, but not in control subjects. In agreement with previous reports, a significant negative correlation was found between ferritin and transferrin concentrations in serum, although the available data in this study was limited (n = 8). Transferrin not only binds to Fe³⁺ but also to Cr³⁺ and Co³⁺, and the amount of transferrin is increased in Fe-deficiency anemia. Thus, the majority of the Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, and Co³⁺ in the serum of CD patients is likely to bind to transferrin, which may be associated with the higher concentrations of those metals, as well as the significant correlations among those metals in the scalp hair of CD patients. In addition, colectomy may alter the intestinal absorption rate of some metals, while mesalazine may increase the concentrations of Mn and some metals in the scalp hair by chelate formation.

Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and selenium concentration in the scalp hair of Crohn's disease patients who ingested the elemental diet Elental®

RATIONALE

Elental^® is an elemental diet widely used as a nutritional supplement for Crohn's disease (CD) patients in Japan. Elental^® contains amino acids as nitrogen sources and does not contain selenium (Se), and the δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N values of Elental^® are markedly higher and lower, respectively, than those of a normal diet.

METHODS

We compared the δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N values and Se concentration in the scalp hair of CD patients with those of control subjects who ate a regular diet, and estimated the amount of Elental^® ingested as a supplement. The δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N values and the Se concentrations were quantified using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively.

RESULTS

An increase in Elental^® ingestion increased the δ¹³ C value in the hair of CD patients (p <0.05), while it reduced the δ¹⁵ N value (p <0.05) and tended to reduce the Se concentration in female patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The amount of Elental^® ingested could be estimated by the δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N values in the hair of CD patients. Furthermore, the Se deficiency in female patients may be predicted from the δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N values.

Essential and Non-essential Elements in Scalp Hair of Diabetics: Correlations with Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c)

Essential elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Fe, Cr, Mn and V) and non-essential elements (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) were measured in scalp hair samples of 45 diabetic subjects and 59 control subjects in Japan using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. All diabetic subjects took insulin and/or antidiabetic agents, with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ranging between 6.2 and 14.4%. The levels of Zn, Cu and Cr in the diabetic subjects (HbA1c>7) were significantly lower than those in the control subjects (p<0.05), and these concentrations decreased significantly with increases in HbA1c (p<0.01). The levels of Fe and Mg in the diabetic subjects were insignificantly lower, and the concentration of Fe decreased significantly with increases in HbA1c (p<0.05) and the concentration of Mn tended to decrease (p<0.10). In contrast, the concentration of As tended to increase with increases in HbA1c (p<0.10). The concentrations of other elements, such as Ca, Mn, V, Pb, Cd and Hg, in the diabetic subjects were similar to those of control subjects, and did not correlate with HbA1c. The average of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the diabetic subjects was 77.7±29.7 mL/min/1.73 m² with large variation (12.7-148 mL/min/1.73 m²), and previous study reported the increase of urinary excretion of Zn, Cr, Mn and Mg in diabetic subjects. The decreases of Zn, Cu, Cr, Fe and Mg concentrations in hair may reflect increased urinary excretion of these elements due to diabetic nephropathy.

Determination of arsenic and lead in single hair strands by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The purpose of this study was to develop matrix-matched hair standards and a LA-ICP-MS technique for determination of the As and Pb in a single human hair using single spot scan mode. These results could subsequently be used to infer when the element entered the body. This study was conducted in two parts. First, a method was developed and validated for the elemental analysis of hair by LA-ICP-MS. A calibration strategy in LA-ICP-MS was developed using prepared matrix-matched laboratory hair standards doped with analytes of interest at a defined concentration. The use of hair strand standards enables calibration curves to be obtained by plotting the analyte ion (M⁺) intensity normalized to³⁴S⁺(the ratio M⁺/³⁴S⁺) as a function of the concentration determined by ICP-MS of the acidic digests. The linear correlation coefficients (R²) of the calibration curves for the analytes As and Pb were typically between 0.9970 and 0.9998, respectively. Second, an actual hair was measured using the developed method. The spatial distribution of As along the hair was observed in a hair sample from a leukaemia patient treated with arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃). The actual and estimated times over which the drug entered the body were compared and discussed.