Heavy Metal Testing – Hair & Urine

Metals Urine Test:

Heavy metals toxicity caused by increasing levels of pollution and use of chemicals in industry is a growing threat to our health and development of our children. High levels of toxic metals deposited in body tissues and subsequently in the brain, may cause significant developmental and neurological damage.

WHY THE METALS URINE TEST?

Urine toxic and essential elements analysis is an invaluable tool for the assessment of retention of toxic metals in the body and the status of essential nutrient elements. Toxic metals do not have any useful physiological function, adversely affect almost every organ system, and disrupt the homeostasis of nutrient elements.

Analysis of the levels of toxic metals in urine after the administration of a metal detoxification agent – called metals chelation – is an objective way to evaluate the accumulation of toxic metals. Acute metal poisoning is rare. More common, however, is a chronic, low-level exposure to toxic metals that can result in significant retention in the body that can be associated with a vast array of adverse health effects and chronic disease.

One cannot draw valid conclusions about adverse health effects of metals without assessing net retention. For an individual, toxicity occurs when net retention exceeds physiological tolerance. Net retention is determined by the difference between the rates of assimilation and excretion of metals.

To evaluate net retention, one compares the levels of metals in urine before and after the administration of a pharmaceutical metal detoxification agent such as EDTA, DMSA or DMPS. Different compounds have different affinities for specific metals, but all function by sequestering “hidden” metals from deep tissue stores and mobilizing the metals to the kidneys for excretion in the urine.

CLINICAL USEFULNESS

• Determine if metal toxicity or mineral deficiency is contributing to the disorder
• Monitor the effects of chelation (elimination of heavy metals from the body)
• Identify if supplementation of important minerals may bring about significant improvements

SPECIMEN REQUIREMENTS – Urine

• The urine collection requires 50 mL of urine. A chelating agent is recommended for best results.
• We highly recommend a 24 hour urine collection which requires the patient to collect every urine specimen over the 24 hour period of time.
• If we recommend using a chelating agent, the patient should take the chelating agent 1 hour prior to starting the collection of specimen.

METALS HAIR TEST

Heavy metals toxicity caused by increasing levels of pollution and use of chemicals in industry is a growing threat to our health and development of our children. High levels of toxic metals deposited in body tissues and subsequently in the brain, may cause significant developmental and neurological damage.

A Metals Hair Test is ideal for checking current exposure to toxic metals. Hair provides important information that can assist us with an early diagnosis and progression of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.

Extensive research established that scalp hair element levels are related to human systemic levels. The strength of this relationship varies for specific elements, and many researchers consider hair as the tissue of choice for toxic and several nutrient elements. Unlike blood, hair element levels are not regulated by homeostatic mechanisms. Thus, deviations in hair element levels often appear prior to overt symptoms and can thereby be a valuable preliminary tool for predicting the development of physiological abnormalities.

As protein is synthesized in the hair follicle, elements are incorporated permanently into the hair with no further exchange with other tissues. Scalp hair is easy to sample, and because it grows an average of one to two cm per month, it contains a “temporal record” of element metabolism and exposure to toxic elements.

Nutrient elements including magnesium, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium are obligatory co-factors for hundreds of important enzymes and also are essential for the normal functions of vitamins. The levels of these elements in hair are correlated with levels in organs and other tissues.

Toxic elements may be 200-300 times more highly concentrated in hair than in blood or urine. Therefore, hair is the tissue of choice for detection of recent exposure to elements such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, lead, antimony, and mercury. The CDC acknowledges the value of hair mercury levels as a maternal and infant marker for exposure to neurotoxic methylmercury from fish.

Through recent vast improvements in technology, instrumentation, and application of scientific protocols, hair element analysis has become a valuable tool in providing dependable and useful data for physicians and their patients. The U.S. Environmental Protection agency stated in a recent report that “…if hair samples are properly collected and cleaned, and analyzed by the best analytic methods, using standards and blanks as required, in a clean and reliable laboratory by experienced personnel, the data are reliable.” (U.S.E.P.A. 600/4-79-049)

Hair element analysis is a valuable and inexpensive screen for physiological excess, deficiency or maldistribution of elements. It should not be considered a stand-alone diagnostic test for essential element function, and should be used in conjunction with patient symptoms and other laboratory tests. This is the reason we use both a urine and hair test.

CLINICAL USEFULNESS

• Determine if metal toxicity or mineral deficiency is contributing to the disorder
• Monitor the effects of chelation (elimination of heavy metals from the body)
• Identify if supplementation of important minerals may bring about significant improvements

SPECIMEN REQUIREMENTS – Hair

Hair (source head or pubic): 0.25 grams (approximately 1 tablespoon) of hair is the absolute minimum. 1 gram is preferred.