Vitamin D deficiency can be measured in human hair, reveals study
Researchers have found that vitamin D can now be measured by human hair, paving the way for improved diagnosis of deficiency of the sunshine vitamin.
With over a billion people estimated to be affected, vitamin D deficiency — a risk factor for depression, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, diabetes and cancer — has reached epidemic proportions worldwide.
While traditional blood analysis captures the levels at a single time point, in contrast, hair, which grow at approximately one centimetre per month, could reflect vitamin D status over several months, capturing the large seasonal differences in the levels.
“The study presents the idea that vitamin D is being deposited continuously in the hair as it grows, more might be deposited at times when vitamin D concentration in the blood is high, and less when it’s low,” said lead author Lina Zgaga, Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
“Therefore, a test based on the hair sample might be able to give doctors a measure of vitamin D status over time — if hair is long enough, this even might be over a few years,” Zgaga added.
The findings were published in the journal Nutrients.
25.02.2019
Be tough but look soft, be tense but look cool, be a beginner but look winner
No comments:
Post a Comment