A Strand of Hope: Hair Analysis Shows Promise for Faster ALS Diagnosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, progressive, and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease. Currently, diagnosis frequently enough takes between 10 and 16 months from the onset of initial symptoms, a delay that impacts a patient’s access to supportive care. While average survival is around three years post-diagnosis, survival rates vary, with 20% of patients living five years, 10% reaching ten, and 5% living for over two decades, according to the ALS Association. Early diagnosis is crucial, as it allows for the prompt initiation of treatments focused on improving quality of life and potentially extending survival.
Though, existing diagnostic methods rely on invasive and costly biological fluid analyses or complex imaging, presenting challenges for widespread implementation in clinical settings. Now, research suggests a simpler, non-invasive approach might potentially be on the horizon: a hair test.
A team led by Manish Arora,a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount sinai,analyzed hair samples from 391 individuals – 295 diagnosed with ALS and 96 healthy controls. Utilizing inductive plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and laser ablation, advanced techniques capable of determining the elemental composition of solid samples, the researchers meticulously examined the hair.
Each hair strand yielded up to 800 data points, revealing fluctuations in chemical element levels over a period of 2-4 hours. The study focused on 17 elements, including copper, zinc, magnesium, and lead, analyzing how their concentrations changed over time.The results pointed to a significant role for copper in the progress of ALS. individuals with the disease exhibited irregular variations and imbalances in copper levels compared to healthy individuals, suggesting a systemic disruption of copper metabolism. Further analysis revealed weaker interactions between copper and zinc in men with ALS, and alterations in chromium dynamics in women with the disease.
“Our study shows that hair can provide a snapshot of the balance of chemical elements in the body,” explained professor Arora. “By analyzing their dynamics, for example, copper, we can identify disorders associated with ALS in a simple and non-invasive way. Our approach could transform how we diagnose this disease, making the process faster and more accessible to patients.” He also noted this is the first research to utilize hair analysis to identify elemental imbalances linked to a disease state.
While a commercially available diagnostic test is not yet available, the findings suggest hair analysis could significantly reduce diagnostic timelines. This faster diagnosis would allow patients to benefit sooner from supportive treatments, including nutritional guidance, assistive devices, therapy, and counseling, ultimately improving their quality of life and potentially impacting survival.
The research was a collaborative effort involving Linus Biotechnology, Dartmouth University, and Columbia University, and was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
