Hair samples had been collected from ALS-positive circumstances and ALS-negative controls at a regional ALS middle and supplemented with a nationwide assortment of ALS-positive circumstances within the US. Credit score: Mount Sinai Well being System
Researchers on the Icahn College of Medication at Mount Sinai have proven for the primary time {that a} single strand of hair can reveal distinctive elemental patterns that distinguish individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from wholesome people. The findings, printed in eBioMedicine, counsel {that a} easy, noninvasive hair-based check may someday velocity up ALS prognosis and enhance affected person care.
ALS is a progressive and deadly neurodegenerative illness, sometimes taking 10 to 16 months from symptom onset to prognosis in the USA. Earlier detection is important because it improves the affected person’s high quality of life and subsequently doubtlessly prolongs survival, however present fluid- and imaging-based biomarkers are sometimes invasive, costly, and tough to combine into routine medical care. Based on the ALS Affiliation, the typical survival time is three years, although about 20% of individuals with ALS reside 5 years, 10% survive 10 years, and 5% reside 20 years or longer.
Utilizing superior laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, a method that analyzes the basic and isotopic composition of strong samples through the use of a laser to vaporize tiny particles, the analysis crew analyzed single hair strands from 391 individuals (295 ALS-positive circumstances and 96 controls). Every hair strand offered as much as 800 time factors of information, representing elemental fluctuations at roughly two to four-hour intervals.
The investigators measured 17 components—together with copper, zinc, magnesium, and lead—and used refined information-theory instruments to evaluate how elemental patterns shifted over time.
The research provides to proof that copper performs a central position in ALS. Sufferers with ALS confirmed considerably decrease synchrony (much less coordinated, much less related, and fewer aligned in time) in copper-based elemental networks in contrast with controls, suggesting systemic dysregulation in copper metabolism. Male sufferers demonstrated weaker copper-zinc dynamics, whereas feminine sufferers confirmed disruptions in chromium-nickel patterns.
“Our study demonstrates that hair can serve as a window into the body’s elemental balance,” mentioned Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, Ph.D., the Edith J. Baerwald Professor and Vice Chair of the Division of Environmental Medication on the Icahn College of Medication at Mount Sinai, and senior creator of the research.
“By analyzing the biodynamics of elements such as copper over time, we can detect disruptions associated with ALS in a simple, noninvasive way. This approach has the potential to transform how we diagnose ALS, making it faster, easier, and more accessible for patients.”
“This is the first-ever study to use hair strands to identify elemental dysregulation in ALS,” mentioned Vishal Midya, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Environmental Medication on the Icahn College of Medication and senior creator of the research. “We found that patients with ALS had measurable differences in copper biodynamics that were not present in controls. These findings provide proof-of-concept that hair could serve as a simple and scalable diagnostic tool.”
Whereas the research doesn’t but present a diagnostic check, it exhibits that hair could possibly be a promising new biomarker for ALS. A easy hair-based check would possibly assist shorten the time to prognosis, permitting sufferers to start out therapy and assist sooner. Earlier care, together with drugs, vitamin plans, assistive gadgets, remedy, and counseling, can enhance high quality of life and should even lengthen survival.
Extra info:
Vishal Midya et al, Dysregulation of hair-strand-based elemental biodynamics in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, eBioMedicine (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105907
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The Mount Sinai Hospital
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Single hair strand may present biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (2025, September 4)
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