Analysis of the Correlation between Cholesterol Levels in Blood Using Clinical Data and Hair Using Mass Spectrometry...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biomedical Science
• Forensic Science

Background:

• Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) visualizes molecular distribution on sample surfaces.
• MSI of hair is predominantly used in forensics for drug detection.
• Limited research exists on MSI of hair for health monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between blood cholesterol levels and cholesterol detected in hair using MSI.
• To compare MSI of hair cholesterol with traditional fluorescence staining (FS) methods.

Main Methods:

• Collected hair and clinical data from 24 subjects.
• Analyzed cholesterol distribution in cross-sectional hair slices using MSI.
• Compared MSI results with fluorescence staining (FS) using Filipin III.

Main Results:

• A positive correlation (r=0.43) was observed between blood cholesterol and hair cholesterol detected by MSI.
• Fluorescence staining visualized detailed hair structures but showed discrepancies with MSI, potentially due to cholesterol loss during staining.

Conclusions:

• Hair MSI demonstrates potential for correlating with systemic cholesterol levels.
• MSI of hair may serve as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for detecting disease biomarkers.
• Further research is needed to validate hair MSI for broad health monitoring applications.