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A New Technique for Quantitative Analysis of Hair Loss in Mice Using Grayscale Analysis
Published on: March 9, 2015
Quantitative Analysis of Selected Circulating Hematological Biomarkers, Essential Minerals, Vitamins, and Thyroid
Saad Al-Fawaeir1, Ibrahim Al-Odat1
1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Jadara University, Irbid 21110, Jordan.
Purpose:
To assess the association between hair loss in females and various biomarkers including hemoglobin, iron, ferritin, zinc, selenium, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, and thyroid hormones.
Patients And Methods:
This study enrolled 100 women presenting with hair loss and 100 age-matched healthy controls. Venous blood samples were collected for analysis of hematological, hormonal and biochemical parameters.
Results:
The mean age of participants was comparable between groups (43.06 ± 10.76 vs. 41.39 ± 7.94 years; p = 0.88). Hair loss in females had significantly lower mean levels of Hb (11.45 ± 0.39 vs. 13.09 ± 0.46 g/dL; p < 0.001), iron (70.14 ± 7.85 vs. 94.42 ± 5.61 µg/dL; p < 0.001) and ferritin (39.34 ± 3.71 vs. 48.09 ± 5.31 ng/mL), all with p < 0.001. Serum levels of selenium (67.11 ± 5.53 vs. 71.45 ± 4.05 µg/L), zinc (86.07 ± 3.98 vs. 88.87 ± 2.03 µg/L), copper (90.71 ± 3.48 vs. 104.84 ± 5.38 µg/L), and calcium (8.61 ± 0.28 vs. 9.11 ± 0.27 mg/dL) were significantly reduced in women with hair loss (p < 0.001). Thyroid hormones were also significantly lower in the hair loss group, including TSH (1.74 ± 0.25 vs. 2.35 ± 0.39 µIU/mL) and FREE T4 (1.11 ± 0.11 vs. 1.32 ± 0.12 ng/dL), despite remaining within the normal reference ranges. Patients also showed lower serum folate (6.17 ± 0.63 vs. 6.96 ± 0.41 ng/mL), vitamin B12 (185.52 ± 35.27 vs. 258.30 ± 52.84 pg/mL), and vitamin D (26.32 ± 2.98 vs. 32.20 ± 3.76 ng/dL) levels (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Hair loss in females is significantly associated with reduced levels of circulating hemoglobin, iron, copper, selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, thyroid-stimulating hormone and FREE T4 hormone.
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