A preliminary study of steroid reproductive hormones in human hair

This preliminary study investigated the presence of steroid hormones in human hair as an alternative to blood sampling for hormone assays. The study involved 17 female and 25 other volunteers aged 20-45. It found that steroid hormone levels in hair were not affected by shampoo and were consistent across different hair segments. The menstrual cycle patterns of estradiol and progesterone in hair mirrored those in serum, with significant correlations between hair and serum hormone levels: estradiol (γ=0.395, n=20, p<0.05), progesterone (γ=0.440, n=22, p<0.025), and testosterone (γ=0.395, n=25, p<0.05). The study concluded that human hair could serve as a viable sample source for reproductive hormone analysis.