P#14  Hair diameter of newly diagnosed IDDM patients decreases sharply prior to onset of the disease

Joseph Nissimov, Regina Ofan and Moshe Phillip. Dept of Experimental Medicine and Cancer Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and The Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center and Tel-Aviv University, Petah-Tikva, Israel

The hair diameter has been suggested to be a sensitive indicator of general health and in particular disease states. In this report we show a significantly accelerated decrease of the hair diameter in newly diagnosed Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) patients prior to onset of the disease, as determined by hospitalization. Hair of 14 diabetics and 12 non-diabetic controls were obtained (with GCP) by clipping close to the occiput. The major-axis diameters were measured along hair shafts at regular intervals using a dedicated device. An immunoassay for Early Glycation Products (EGPs) along hair shafts, and glycated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c) and presence of ketoacidosis at onset were used as markers for the severity of the disease. Mean hair diameters of IDDM patients were found to decrease increasingly faster prior to onset with the breakpoint between fast and normal diameter decreases occurring at about 5 months prior to onset. Non-parametric slope comparisons between diameter decreases of diabetics during this time period and those of the same subjects earlier, the control subjects, and previously published data were all significant (p<0.05 each, 1.95%/cm vs. 0.53%/cm, 0.66%/cm and 0.45%/cm respectively). Maximal hair diameter decreases of patients with aggravated symptoms of ketoacidosis during the 3 months prior to onset were significantly higher than those of patients without ketoacidosis (4.95%/cm vs. 2.64%/cm, p<0.01), and approximately 8-10 fold higher than normal diameter decreases, but HbA1c and EGPs levels were not significantly different. It is suggested that sharply decreasing hair diameter in at-risk individuals may be a useful test for predicting IDDM onset, and may help in the search for precipitating factors of the disease.