الفهرس 
Hair Follicle EmbryogenesisOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Premature canities is a genetically determined
phenomenon that is usualy age related and can be
accelerated by some exogenous factors.
Previous studies measured Cu and Zn only in
serum of patients with premature canities and
found significantly lower serum Cu levels in
patients compared to controls and no significant
difference regarding serum Zn.
The aim of this study was to assess the hair Cu
and Zn levels in premature canities.
This study included 40 patients under the age
of 25 years with premature canities ”diagnosed by
having at least 10 gray hair fibers in the scalp”
and 40 age and sex matched healthy controls.
Patients were further subdivided into 2 groups
according to the presence or absence of family
history ”in first degree relatives” of premature
canities.
Non grey clean hair that has not been treated
for three months was sampled from the nape of
the neck close to the scalp, as strands 3-5 cm long
weighing 1-2 gm.
Hair was digested by microwave digestion
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method and the concentrations of Zn and Cu were
measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy.
In our study, mean hair Cu concentration was
lower with a highly significant difference in
patients compared to controls. Also, mean hair Zn
concentration was lower in patients compared to
controls but without statistical significance.
According to family history of premature
canities in patient group, no significant
differences were found as regards mean hair Cu
and Zn concentrations between patients with
positive and negative family history of premature
canities.
As regards sex, no significant differences were
found as regards mean hair Cu and Zn
concentrations between males and females.
According to these results, low hair Cu and Zn
concentrations may play a role in premature graying of hair in our society.