IdeaLabs Service - Steroid Analysis (hair and/or (toe)nail)

[haidut]

Note (5/27/2022): This launch is Part I of a two-part service - steroid analysis in hair or nails. While we have confirmed our ability to analyze steroids in both types of samples, nail steroid analysis is still in its scientific infancy and there are very few publications on the topic. As such, there is very little published/public information on so-called "normal population ranges" for each steroid we are capable of detecting. In comparison, there is a lot more information on such ranges in regards to analyzing hair samples. As such, we will offer the hair analysis for now, until we collect enough nail samples from volunteers so that we can experimentally derive ranges for the various steroids in nails. Once those ranges are available, we will add the option to be able to select/order "nails" as a sample analysis in the online shopping system, and will update this thread with another note under this one confirming that we can do the nails as well and the date on which this second part of the service has been launched.

Note (9/9/2022): Part II of the steroid analysis is now also available - i.e. we can now analyze nail samples as well.
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After many months of hard work and many "false" leads, I am please to finally announce that we can now offer steroid testing in samples such as hair (usually from scalp) and/or nails (usually from toes). A few months ago, we launched a similar service - mineral analysis - in both hair and nails.

IdeaLabs Service - Mineral Analysis (hair and/or (toe)nail)

EDIT (05/20/2022): We have been receiving many questions about the difference in ranges for hair and nail results. As mentioned in the main post below, nails absorb more nutrients from the body and as such their ranges are often several-fold higher than the ranges for hair (for a specific...

raypeatforum.com

In that post above, I explained that there has been a great deal of interest in research circles to perform a similar analysis but of other so-called analytes, especially steroids. There have been quite a few studies on analyzing individual steroids in hair samples, and more recently in nails as well. The most common analysis done in hair/nails is for the adrenal hormone cortisol, and multiple studies (see references below) have suggested that hair/nail cortisol may be a reliable biomarker of chronic stress. Why chronic? Well, just like for the mineral analysis, hair and nails are actual tissues composed of many individual cells added to the hair/nail over a specific period of time. Thus, by analyzing the entire sample for the presence and amount of cortisol, one can get an idea for the amount of cortisol to which the cells composing the sample have been exposed over a period of time measured in days, months, and even years (e.g. very long hair). In contrast, measurements of cortisol in the blood are strictly short-term biomarkers since cortisol levels vary drastically in a matter of minutes depending on levels of stress experience by the organism around the time period the blood sample for testing cortisol was collected. Thus, single blood tests for cortisol are not very indicative of the typical/background levels of stress the organism is experiencing in its environment. Of course, one could try to do longer term estimates by doing repeated blood tests for cortisol over a period of time and the average value of those tests would indeed approximate the typical/background level of stress experienced by the organism between the first and lest blood test. However, in order to get a reliable "distribution", many tests (maybe every 2-3 days) need to be done, so it becomes clear that estimating the average levels of cortisol, and thus chronic stress, over a period of even a single month is impractical, invasive, expensive, and even dangerous for the patient. In fact, medical guidelines recommend against drawing blood for testing more than once biweekly, due to the inherently stressful nature of blood extraction, which can easily raise levels of biomarkers such as LDH, CRP, and even...cortisol itself! However, analyzing the amounts of cortisol in a hair or nail sample does not suffer from any of these drawbacks, is painless, does not require any special sample storage/transportation, and the length of time over which one would like to do analysis for cortisol can be varied at will. For example, to test average levels of cortisol over the last month, a hair sample of 0.5in of length (from the base of the scalp) would be sufficient. For a two (2) month (in the past) analysis, a sample twice as long (1in) would be sufficient, and so on potentially indefinitely depending on how long the person's hair is. For individuals with significantly long hair, one could analyze cortisol levels from years ago, which obviously cannot be done by blood as steroid turnover in blood is complete in at most 24 hours for the vast majority of steroids.
The same logic can be applied, and has been applied (see references below), to virtually all other steroids known to science. In addition to cortisol, other commonly assessed steroids include DHEA, DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S), and other more sex-specific steroids such as androgens, pregnanes (pregnenolone, progesterone), estrogens, glucocorticoids. mineralocorticoids, etc. In fact, a recent study on a large population of over 200 Chinese women did an extensive analysis of over 30 different steroids (see Table 1) in hair samples collected from those women, and was able to successfully quantify the vast majority of them.

Profiling steroid and thyroid hormones with hair analysis in a cohort of women aged 25 to 45 years old

Endogenous hormones regulate numerous physiological processes in humans. Some of them are routinely measured in blood, saliva and/or urine for the diagnosis of disorders. The analysis of fluids may, however, require multiple samples collected at different ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This study is the culmination of several decades of smaller studies, analyzing just one or two steroids in hair/nail and slowly establishing this type of analysis as a reliable method of steroid profiling in humans. Over the last few years, several so-called "meta-review" studies were also published, reaching the same conclusions as the overall message of this post - i.e. the field of hair/nail analysis seems to hold a lot of potential as a non-invasive, reliable, longitudinal testing of not just steroids, but virtually any substance/chemical capable of accumulating in cells.

Testing for anabolic steroids in hair: a review - PubMed

It is generally accepted that chemical testing of biological fluids is the most objective means of diagnosis of drug use. The presence of a drug analyte in a biological specimen can be used to document exposure. The standard in drug testing is the immunoassay screen, followed by the gas...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"... In recent years, remarkable advances in sensitive analytical techniques have enabled the analysis of drugs in unconventional biological specimens such as hair. The advantages of this sample over traditional media like urine and blood are obvious: collection is almost noninvasive, relatively easy to perform, and in forensic situations it may be achieved under close supervision of law enforcement officers to prevent adulteration or substitution. Moreover, the window of drug detection is dramatically extended to weeks, months or even years. The aim of this review is to document the current detection of anabolic steroids in hair."

Hair cortisol analysis: An update on methodological considerations and clinical applications - PubMed

Hair cortisol provides a unique objective biomarker for the analysis of endogenous cortisol levels for not only clinical diagnostic purposes but also in research. The use of hair cortisol has great potential for advancing patient care.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"...We compare the clinical utility and application of hair cortisol with traditional methods of measurement while acknowledging the limitations of analysis including variations in hair growth parameters. We explore the value of hair cortisol in cases of Cushing syndrome (particularly Cyclical Cushing), Adrenal insufficiency (including Addison's disease), therapy monitoring, cardiovascular disease, stress, and mental illness. Hair cortisol provides a unique objective biomarker for the analysis of endogenous cortisol levels for not only clinical diagnostic purposes but also in research. The use of hair cortisol [analysis] has great potential for advancing patient care."

A quantitative ultra-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of steroids from human scalp hair - PubMed

Hair steroid analysis offers the possibility to evaluate long-term steroid metabolism. It is especially beneficial when studying the steroid milieu in newborns and children, for example it can provide new insights into steroid metabolism over months and is unaffected by diurnal fluctuations in...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

LC-MS based analysis of endogenous steroid hormones in human hair - PubMed

The quantification of endogenous steroid hormone concentrations in hair is increasingly used as a method for obtaining retrospective information on long-term integrated hormone exposure. Several different analytical procedures have been employed for hair steroid analysis, with liquid...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"... Our results show that, when methodological challenges are adequately addressed, LC-MS protocols can not only yield excellent sensitivity and specificity but are also characterized by relatively simple sample processing and short run times. This makes LC-MS based hair steroid protocols particularly suitable as a high-quality option for routine application in research contexts requiring the processing of larger numbers of samples."

However, the good news on steroid analysis in hair/nails does not end there. Over the last several decades, researchers have noticed the value of using steroid ratios to uncover specific health disturbances, but also to assess general/systemic health, predict health problems years before they manifest and even predict mortality lifespan. While most of the work on steroid ratios (using blood analysis) came out of the mental health research field, more recent studies have demonstrate the usefulness of those ratios to virtually all medical sub-fields. For example the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio in blood has been proposed as one of the most reliable predictors of all-cause mortality in addition to its well-known role as a potential biomarker of mental illness (especially depression), cardiovascular health, and immune system function. Namely, the lower the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio, the healthier the person. However, some of the researchers publishing those studies opined that while blood DHEA-S is a reliable indicator of long-term adrenal health and resilience to stress, blood cortisol is quite unreliable as a long-term biomarker due to the reasons mentioned earlier. As such, the test for cortisol/DHEA-S ratio in blood is not as reliable as scientists want, due to its denominator lacking in reliability. The testing of cortisol and DHEA (or DHEA-S) in hair address this issue precisely due to its innate property of providing average longitudinal values over longer periods of time. As such the cortisol/DHEA ratio in blood should be able to address the drawbacks of the cortisol/DHEA-S test in blood. Indeed, multiple studies on the cortisol/DHEA ratio in hair (or nails), listed in the references section below, corroborate the usefulness of this ratio as a great biomarker of chronic stress (and resilience to it), which translates into it being a great indicator of systemic health, and good predictor of longevity/lifespan. A number of other steroid ratios have been examined over the last several decades, including the progesterone/estrogen (estradiol) ratio Dr. Peat has mentioned many times, the testosterone/estradiol ratio, the cortisol/testosterone ratio, the DHT/estrogen (estradiol) ratio, total androgen/estrogen ratio, the androsterone/etiocholanolone ratio, the cortisone/cortisol ratio, the estrone/esradiol ratio, the T3/T4 ratio, etc. Combining the detected values of individual steroids with one or more of the above mentioned ratios, further improves the ability to assess systemic health over virtually any period of time chosen by the person (or his/her health care provider) providing the sample for analysis. Speaking of steroids and their ratios, which steroids can our service currently detect and quantify? Here is the current list, which we hope to be able to grow by quite a few more if we add anabolic steroids to the list of analytes of interest.

Precursors: Pregnenolone (P5), Progesterone (P4). 17-OH-P5, 17-OH-P4
Androgens: DHEA, DHEA-S, Androstenedione, Testosterone, Epitestosterone, DHT, Androsterone, Etiocholanolone. Adrenosterone, 11-keto/11-OH androgens
Estrogens: Estradiol, Estrone, Estriol (in progress)
Mineralo/Gluco-Corticoids: Cortisol, Cortisone, Corticosterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, Aldosterone
Thyroid: Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4), Reverse T3 (in progress)

Overall, we are very excited about the opportunity this presents to not only provide direct value to the individual person seeking to improve their health, but also about the potential this has for advancing science by now being able to merge the hair/nail mineral analysis (often frowned upon by medical doctors) with the steroids analysis and draw valuable correlations between the two, which may help put the former on a more solid scientific basis while informing the latter of feedback cycles between minerals and steroids that were either unknown before or were considered too controversial to accept in mainstream medicine/science.

For more detailed information, including how to collect/harvest hair/nail samples, please visit the links below.

Steroid Analysis

Quantitative analysis of hair / (toe)nail samples for the presence and concentrations of several steroid analytes (pregnanes, androstanes, estranes, thyroid hormones, etc). **DO NOT WASH THE NAIL/HAIR SAMPLES BEFORE SENDING** NAIL ANALYSIS: For optimal results, please send nail samples from AT...

idealabs.ecwid.com

Thyroid Analysis [hair or (toe)nail]

<p>Quantitative analysis of hair / (toe)nail samples for the presence and concentrations of several thyroid analytes (T4, T3, reverse T3).<br></p><p>**DO NOT WASH THE NAIL/HAIR SAMPLES BEFORE SENDING**</p><p>NAIL ANALYSIS: For optimal results, please send nail samples from AT LEAST each big toe...

idealabs.ecwid.com

@Drareg @ecstatichamster @yerrag @Amazoniac @James b @Peatness @Philomath @sunny @BrianF @Dean @Chad_Catholic @RayIV @revenant @scoobydoo @Happycat @Soren @Michael Mohn @aguilaroja @Alex Jaramillo @Risingfire @Ismail @Mauritio @Dan W

REFERENCES:

1. Hair

Higher Levels of Stress-Related Hair Steroid Hormones Are Associated with the Increased SCORE2 Risk Prediction Algorithm in Apparently Healthy Women

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major cause of death worldwide. Although the importance of conventional CVD risk factors, including older age, male gender, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia, is well-studied, psychosocial stress, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A quantitative ultra-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of steroids from human scalp hair

Hair steroid analysis offers the possibility to evaluate long-term steroid metabolism. It is especially beneficial when studying the steroid milieu in…

www.sciencedirect.com

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.032
Hair Measurements of Cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA to Cortisol Ratio as Biomarkers of Chronic Stress among People Living with HIV in China: Known-Group Validation
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.11.014
Hair Cortisol and Dehydroepiandrosterone Concentrations: Associations with Executive Function in Early Childhood
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.12.040

Elevated levels of cortisol in hair precede acute myocardial infarction - Scientific Reports

Long term stress exposure is typical for modern societies and might trigger different diseases. This case–control study reveals that persons who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) had elevated cortisol concentrations in the month before the acute event. Middle-aged patients...

www.nature.com

https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2013-1056
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.02.024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2013.08.022
https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2010.511352
Hair Analysis Provides a Historical Record of Cortisol Levels in Cushing’s Syndrome
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.12.020
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.02.012
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2011.04.005
Cortisol in hair measured in young adults - a biomarker of major life stressors?
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.09.001
Measurement of cortisol in human hair as a biomarker of systemic exposure - PubMed
https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890801887388
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.07.015
The measurement of testosterone in hair - PubMed
Physiological concentrations of anabolic steroids in human hair - PubMed
Determination of testosterone in human hair by gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry - PubMed
https://doi.org/10.1039/a903912k
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.07.015
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2012.04.011
Scalp hair cortisol and testosterone levels in patients with sarcoidosis
[Radioimmunoassay of testosterone concentrations in hair: use in doping control] - PubMed
https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0034-1374609
https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/23.5.352
https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/23.6.424
https://doi.org/10.1097/ftd.0b013e3181c004f1
https://doi.org/10.1039/a903912k
https://doi.org/10.1039/a903912k
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2013.03.008
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2019.108547
Profiling steroid and thyroid hormones with hair analysis in a cohort of women aged 25 to 45 years old
Redirecting
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2017.05.007
Determination of estrone and 17 beta-estradiol in human hair by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - PubMed
HOME vs. LAB hair samples for the determination of long-term steroid concentrations: a comparison between hair samples collected by laypersons and trained research staff
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461179
https://doi.org/10.1159/000504672

2. Nails

Age-related testosterone declines can be detected in men's fingernails - PubMed

Testosterone plays multiple roles in the regulation of development, physiology, reproduction, and behavior. Age-related testosterone declines are expected in the population. However, measuring circulating testosterone is especially challenging because concentrations are labile, responding to...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-5172-3
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.01.015
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1131-6
Canadian Science Publishing
Measuring cortisol and DHEA in fingernails: A pilot study
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2016.02.013
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4347(01)00038-x
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4347(01)00038-x
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2018.09.015

3. Steroid Ratios (serum, hair, nails, etc)
Biochemical roles of testosterone and epitestosterone to 5 alpha-reductase as indicators of male-pattern baldness - PubMed
Testosterone/Epitestosterone Ratios-Further Hints to Explain Hyperandrogenemia in Children with Autism - PubMed
Evaluation of Testosterone/Epitestosterone Ratio Influential Factors as Determined in Doping Analysis
Imbalance in the estrogen/androgen ratio may affect prostate fibrosis through the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. - Physician's Weekly
Neuroprotective effect of a physiological ratio of testosterone and estradiol on corticosterone-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells via Traf6/TAK1 pathway - PubMed
Impact of androgen/estrogen ratio: lessons learned from the aromatase over-expression mice - PubMed
Increased estrogen to androgen ratio enhances immunoglobulin levels and impairs B cell function in male mice - Scientific Reports
Increased estrogen to androgen ratio in mice feminize the male immune system - Infrafrontier
The Loss of Masculine With Declined Serum DHT Is Associated With High Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chinese Men
Effect of increasing ratio of estrogen: androgen on proliferation of normal human prostate stromal and epithelial cells, and the malignant cell line LNCaP - PubMed
Elevated Serum Levels of Estradiol, Dihydrotestosterone, and Inhibin B in Adult Males Born Small for Gestational Age
Clinical impact of estradiol/testosterone ratio in patients with acute ischemic stroke - PubMed
Testosterone to oestradiol ratio reflects systemic and plaque inflammation and predicts future cardiovascular events in men with severe atherosclerosis - PubMed
Synergistic Effect of a Physiological Ratio of Estradiol and Testosterone in the Treatment of Early-stage Atherosclerosis - PubMed
Evidence of a treatable endocrinopathy in infertile men - PubMed
Aromatase inhibitors for male infertility | Request PDF
Is There A Role for Dihydrotestosterone/ Estradiol Ratio in Premature Ejaculation?
Seasonal fluctuations in testosterone-estrogen ratio in men from the Southwest United States - PubMed
The effect of aromatase inhibitor letrozole on body mass index, serum hormones, and sperm parameters in infertile men - PubMed
The effect of aromatase inhibitor letrozole on body mass index, serum hormones, and sperm parameters in infertile men - PubMed
Changes in hormonal profile and seminal parameters with use of aromatase inhibitors in management of infertile men with low testosterone to estradiol ratios - PubMed
Effect of body weight on testosterone/estradiol ratio in oligozoospermic patients - PubMed
Role of testosterone to estradiol ratio in predicting the efficacy of recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin and testosterone treatment in male hypogonadism - PubMed
Role of testosterone/estradiol ratio in predicting the efficacy of tamoxifen citrate treatment in idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermic men - PubMed
Aromatase inhibitors for male infertility - PubMed
Prospective evaluation of risk factors for male breast cancer - PubMed
Estrogen-androgen imbalance in hepatic cirrhosis. Studies in 13 male patients - PubMed
Antiestrogenic action of dihydrotestosterone in mouse breast. Competition with estradiol for binding to the estrogen receptor - PubMed
Unique aspects of competitive weightlifting: performance, training and physiology - PubMed
The use of recovery methods post-exercise - PubMed
Overtraining parameters in special military units - PubMed
Physiological changes associated with the pre-event taper in athletes - PubMed
Changes in exercise performance and hormonal concentrations over a big ten soccer season in starters and nonstarters - PubMed
Use of the Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio Variable in Sports
Dual-hormone stress reactivity predicts downstream war-zone stress-evoked PTSD
Biomarkers in Sports and Exercise: Tracking Health, Performance, and Recovery in Athletes
Cortisol, testosterone, and coronary heart disease: prospective evidence from the Caerphilly study - PubMed
Hair Measurements of Cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA to Cortisol Ratio as Biomarkers of Chronic Stress among People Living with HIV in China: Known-Group Validation
https://tahomaclinic.com/Research/HandbookPDFs/DHEA-Cortisol-Ratio.pdf
https://people.clas.ufl.edu/dkertes/files/Kamin_Kertes_HB_2017.pdf
Relationships among training stress, mood and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate/cortisol ratio in female cyclists - PubMed
Effects of amount of training on the saliva concentrations of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone and on the dehydroepiandrosterone: cortisol concentration ratio in women over 16 weeks of training - PubMed
Cortisol/DHEA ratio and hippocampal volume: A pilot study in major depression and healthy controls
Cortisol, DHEA sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam Experience Study
Cortisol, DHEAS, their ratio and the metabolic syndrome: evidence from the Vietnam Experience Study
Is the DHEAS/cortisol ratio a potential filter for non-operable constipated cases?
Lipodystrophy May Be Related to Cortisol:DHEA Ratio and Serum Alpha-Interferon
Association of cortisol, DHEA-S and cortisol/DHEAS ratio with insulin resistance in overweight and obese women | ECE2017 | 19th European Congress of Endocrinology | Endocrine Abstracts
Cortisol & Adrenal Androgens as Independent Predictors
Psychiatry Online
https://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TONEUROPPJ/TONEUROPPJ-5-18.pdf
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1496&context=graddis
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/articles/article-pdf/id26753.pdf
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate/cortisol ratio in cirrhotic patients with septic shock: another sign of hepatoadrenal syndrome? - Critical Care
The ratio of cortisol/DHEA in treatment resistant depression
Cortisol/DHEA ratio in morbidly obese patients before and after bariatric surgery: Relation to metabolic parameters and cardiovascular performance - International Journal of Obesity
Cortisol/DHEA Ratios in Depression - Neuropsychopharmacology
High Serum Cortisol/DHEA-S Ratio Is a Risk Factor for Sarcopenia in Elderly Diabetic Patients
Hair Measurements of Cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA to Cortisol Ratio as Biomarkers of Chronic Stress among People Living with HIV in China: Known-Group Validation
Relationship Between IGF-1 and Cortisol/ DHEA-S Ratio in Adult Men With Diabetic Metabolic Syndrome Versus Non-Diabetic Metabolic Syndrome | El-Eshmawy | Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Serum cortisol and DHEA concentrations during HIV infection - PubMed
A new ratio: urinary etiocholanolone/androsterone as an indication of sexual interest in postmenopausal women
ABNORMAL URINARY ANDROSTERONE/ETIOCHOLANOLONE RATIO IN HYPOTHALAMIC DISTURBANCES IN MAN
(PDF) Abiraterone Acetate to Lower Androgens in Women With Classic 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency
Male aging: hormonal profiles in serum and urine among patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia versus healthy men
Accuracy of Urinary Etiocholanolone/Androsterone Ratio as Alternative to Serum Testosterone/Dihydrotestosterone Ratio for Diagnosis of 5 Alpha-reductase Type 2 Deficiency Patients and Carriers in Indonesia
Hypothyroid-Like Alterations in Testosterone Metabolism in Anorexia Nervosa

 

[tastyfood]

Incredible news, Georgi. Congratulations for this launch.

Reading the comment about the possibility of testing longer strands of hair to detect levels for longer periods of time is incredibly useful. I have grown my hair for 8 months now, and it's great to know that doesn't "disqualify" me from sending a sample.

Here's hoping that we can all learn together from this new offering.

 

[haidut]

I have grown my hair for 8 months now, and it's great to know that doesn't "disqualify" me from sending a sample.

Thank you!
Yep, not only does it not disqualify you, but the longer the hair the further back in time we can sort of "look into" through the analysis. This also applies to nails,, but here hair has a strong advantage since not many people can tolerate multi-inch-long nails to achieve the same timespan as hair. That being said, I suspect that the 1-4 months timespan nails can (practically) cover is enough for most people, and the really extended past-period analysis possible with hair would be reserved for special situations when one needs to test a specific distant period in the past when something important occurred (i.e. accident, acute stress, beginning new supplement/medication, etc).

 

[tastyfood]

Makes sense.

All the steroids available for testing look like something useful to learn about, but I'm hesitating about the thyroid option. For someone who tests thyroid in blood regularly (4 to 5 times a year), and the levels of total T4, total T3, and rT3 seen in results perfectly correlate with the amount of thyroid being taken, would the thyroid results in hair still useful? It also looks like comparing blood results with test results wouldn't really be possible.

Thanks again. Super excited for how convenient this seems from a sample obtaining point of view.

 

[haidut]

Makes sense.

All the steroids available for testing look like something useful to learn about, but I'm hesitating about the thyroid option. For someone who tests thyroid in blood regularly (4 to 5 times a year), and the levels of total T4, total T3, and rT3 seen in results perfectly correlate with the amount of thyroid being taken, would the thyroid results in hair still useful? It also looks like comparing blood results with test results wouldn't really be possible.

Thanks again. Super excited for how convenient this seems from a sample obtaining point of view.

Well, the blood test only show the change in blood thyroid levels as a result of supplementation. They do not show intracellular levels. It is an issue probably applicable to any steroid - i.e. blood levels either do not correlate or swing wildly compared to intracellular levels. Peat mentioned it a few times in regards to estrogen - i.e. low estrogen levels in the blood do not mean low estrogen in tissues. That study on 200+ Chinese women confirmed that - i.e. with advancing age (menopause) the hair estrogen did NOT decline, but actually rose. So, menopause is NOT a state of low estrogen, which is the exact opposite of what doctors currently believe/preach. So, hard to say how hair/nail thyroid would correlate with blood levels until we do some actual testing, but there is plenty of evidence that blood testing alone is not very reliable when it comes to assessing actual effects/effectiveness of steroids in tissues.

 

[Jinzo]

So excited for this thanks haidut!!

 

[haidut]

So excited for this thanks haidut!!

Thanks for the support and the patience while we worked on bringing this to fruition.
We are really excited about this not only b/c of the steroid testing but b/c the entire field of LC-MS human sample analysis seems to be taking off in the scientific community, and the spectrum of potential biomarkers to test in hair/sample is virtually unlimited. There are already studies on detecting/quantifying melatonin, serotonin, dopamine, insulin, inflammatory biomarkers, etc in hair so over time the hair/nail testing field may turn into what the (in)famous Theranos kept promising but never delivered.

 

[Jinzo]

Thanks for the support and the patience while we worked on bringing this to fruition.
We are really excited about this not only b/c of the steroid testing but b/c the entire field of LC-MS human sample analysis seems to be taking off in the scientific community, and the spectrum of potential biomarkers to test in hair/sample is virtually unlimited. There are already studies on detecting/quantifying melatonin, serotonin, dopamine, insulin, inflammatory biomarkers, etc in hair so over time the hair/nail testing field may turn into what the (in)famous Theranos kept promising but never delivered.

Whoa...that would be incredible. You're a certified legend man lmao. Cheers!

 

[Philomath]

Note (5/27/2022): This launch is Part I of a two-part service - steroid analysis in hair or nails. While we have confirmed our ability to analyze steroids in both types of samples, nail steroid analysis is still in its scientific infancy and there are very few publications on the topic.

Thank you Haidut!
I was just about to send a nail sample in for mineral testing. Can you test both steroid and mineral from one set of nails, or do you need two sets?

 

[haidut]

Thank you Haidut!
I was just about to send a nail sample in for mineral testing. Can you test both steroid and mineral from one set of nails, or do you need two sets?

We currently can only analyze steroids based on a hair sample, as mentioned at the top of the thread. Actually, we can analyze nail as well, but we don't currently know whether the results we get for each steroid from nail are "normal" or not, as we don't have the normal ranges for steroids. There are published ranges for only 3-4 steroids when analyzed in nails.
For hair, there is quite a bit of published info we can rely upon, so we can provide a report with ranges based on samples from hundreds of people, similar to one that LabCorp/Quest would do based on blood tests. Not yet for nail, but if you have a nail sample you could send us, it would help us derive ranges for the steroids in nail and then we can start offering the nail service too. Typically, 30-40 adult samples are sufficient to define good ranges for most detectable steroids.
So, what I am saying it that if you want the steroid analysis, we currently need a hair sample and then any nail samples you are willing to send so we can analyze them will help us define steroid ranges for nails.

 

[Alex Jaramillo]

Awesome, I will be ordering in the near future. Growing my hair out again. Thanks Georgi :)

 

[haidut]

Awesome, I will be ordering in the near future. Growing my hair out again. Thanks Georgi :)

We don't need that much hair for the analysis. A small mop the size of the thumb fingernail taken from the base of the skull should be enough. So, if you have that then there is no need to grow it more.

 

[Alex Jaramillo]

We don't need that much hair for the analysis. A small mop the size of the thumb fingernail taken from the base of the skull should be enough. So, if you have that then there is no need to grow it more.

Sounds good, appreciate you man. Hope you and your family are doing well.

 

[tastyfood]

@haidut what would it take for the analysis to be able to include pituitary hormones like prolactin, FSH, LH, or ACTH? These hormones are pulsatile in nature and hard to interpret from single blood tests. Thank you!

 

[haidut]

@haidut what would it take for the analysis to be able to include pituitary hormones like prolactin, FSH, LH, or ACTH? These hormones are pulsatile in nature and hard to interpret from single blood tests. Thank you!

We are testing that next. I think there are some studies on detecting prolactin and ACTH in hair, so it should be possible. One problem is that unlike the "simpler" molecules like steroids those bigger, peptide-based hormones are more unstable and degrade more easily, both while still in hair/nail and during the extraction process we do for the samples. But it is doable and has been done, so that would be the next phase, after we complete the nail ranges - i.e. the focus will be on detecting things like serotonin, prolactin, insulin, ACTH, CRH, TSH, LH/FSH, etc. Apparently, CRH is produced not only by the brain but by local cells too, and it s good biomarker of stress and inflammation (just like TSH). so it would probably be informative to detect and quantify those inflammatory peptides. On the other hand, for some of them, their end-point targets provide good information already. For example, if cortisol in hair/nail is high/low then it does not matter much if ACTH is out of range. Same for T3/T4 - they are low then whether TSH is high or not is of secondary importance. The testing of those peptides would help more with determining things like whether a hypothyroidism is of central or peripheral nature, whether a Cushing syndrome is of pituitary or ectopic origin, whether hypogonadism is primary or secondary, etc. Useful info, but only after an abnormal result has been obtained for one or more of the steroids controlled by these peptides.

 

[haidut]

Hey @charlie, is there any way we can get the forum software to extract the titles of all the studies listed in the references section? I noticed it pulled many of the titles in the "Steroid Ratios" section but not in the "Hair" or "Nails" sections.
Thanks in advance.

 

[charlie]

Hey @charlie, is there any way we can get the forum software to extract the titles of all the studies listed in the references section? I noticed it pulled many of the titles in the "Steroid Ratios" section but not in the "Hair" or "Nails" sections.
Thanks in advance.

Basically you have to hit edit and click submit a few more times. It will only pull titles for a limited amount of time.

 

[haidut]

Basically you have to hit edit and click submit a few more times. It will only pull titles for a limited amount of time.

No problem, I can do that (and did that a few times), but I noticed that it is not pulling titles at all in those 2 sections. Is it because of the format of the links or something? The links there are in the DOI format and the others are either PubMed or direct journal links,

 

[charlie]

No problem, I can do that (and did that a few times), but I noticed that it is not pulling titles at all in those 2 sections. Is it because of the format of the links or something? The links there are in the DOI format and the others are either PubMed or direct journal links,

For some reason the DOI is blocking a title pull. But when I try the SCI HUB format it works fine. I think once the DOI are switched over to SCI HUB it will clear out the other pubmed and journal links.

 

[haidut]

For some reason the DOI is blocking a title pull. But when I try the SCI HUB format it works fine. I think once the DOI are switched over to SCI HUB it will clear out the other pubmed and journal links.

OK, thanks. I will see if I can get the actual PubMed links for those.