Copper Content of Hair in Kwashiorkor

Abstract

KWASHIORKOR is a protein malnutrition syndrome frequently found in underdeveloped countries. The level of copper in the serum of people with kwashiorkor has been shown to be greatly reduced^1–3; and it has been suggested that changes in the colour and texture of hair, which are characteristic of the disease, might be associated with an altered copper content. Gopalan¹ found that the copper content of the hair of Indian children with kwashiorkor was considerably less than that of healthy children. Such a reduction might provide a means of early diagnosis. The work described here was undertaken to see whether the reduction is found in other cases of kwashiorkor. Samples of hair were obtained from 13 East African children, 10 with kwashiorkor diagnosed at the Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, and three healthy controls. The copper content of the hair was measured and the results compared with normal values^1,4.