Analysis of copper and lead in hair using the nuclear microscope; results from normal subjects, and patients with Wilson's disease and lead poisoning.

We have recently developed a technique utilizing the nuclear microscope to analyse accurately the trace element content of hair at concentrations of ppm and to differentiate between the levels within hair and those due to surface contamination. Hair was analysed from four patients with Wilson's disease (systemic copper overload), one patient with sub-acute lead poisoning, and three control subjects, and the concentrations and distributions of lead and copper across the hair shafts were shown. However, there was no increase in the copper content of hair from patients with Wilson's disease compared with those of normal subjects, indicating that the high copper levels of many tissues in this disease are not reflected in hair. In contrast, hair samples from the patient with lead poisoning showed maximum concentrations of 14 (+/-2) micrograms g-1, compared with normal levels of less than 1 micrograms g-1. Further, the composition of the hairs along the shaft reflected the temporal changes of lead levels in the patient during lead elimination.