Hair trace elements in cerebellar degeneration: low copper levels in late cortical cerebellar atrophy.

The levels of ten elements in the hair of 7 patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA), 10 patients with late cortical cerebellar atrophy (LCCA) and 1489 healthy persons were determined by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. The phosphorus, zinc, selenium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, aluminium and mercury concentrations did not show any statistically significant difference among the three groups. The copper concentration was significantly lower in the patients with LCCA than in the patients with OPCA, and in the healthy controls. The possibility that LCCA is associated with a mild degree of copper deficiency is considered.