Exploring Reference Values for Hair Cortisol: Hair Weight Versus Hair Protein

    October 2020 in “ Therapeutic drug monitoring ”
    Florian Lemaître, Camille Tron, Thomas H. Renard, Caroline Jézéquel, Pauline Houssel‐Debry, Damien Bergeat, Cédric Pastoret, Nicolas Collet, Antoine Petitcollin, Marie‐Clémence Verdier, Édouard Bardou-Jacquet, Christophe Camus, Karim Boudjéma, Éric Bellissant, Michel Rayar
    TLDR Lower tacrolimus levels (4-7 ng/mL) after liver transplant may be safe and improve graft and kidney function.
    The study investigated whether hair protein concentration (HPC) could serve as a reference value for hair cortisol concentration (HCC) instead of the commonly used hair weight. Involving 18 hair samples, the researchers found that HCC correlated significantly with hair sample weight (r = 0.520, P = 0.027) but not with HPC (r = 0.393, P = 0.106). Additionally, hair sample weight was a better predictor of HCC than HPC. The study concluded that hair sample weight is a more suitable reference value for HCC, recommending the standard cortisol-to-weight ratio for measuring cumulative cortisol activity in scalp hair, though the cortisol-to-protein ratio could be an alternative if hair weight is unavailable.
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