Endocrine Abstracts

Background: 3.8 per 1000 UK babies are stillborn, a large proportion of which are “unexplained”; aberrations in adrenal hormones and bile acids are possible contributors. In this study, we aimed to develop methodologies for simple laboratory measurement of adrenal hormone and bile acid concentrations that can be applied to postnatal samples from stillborn babies, using hair as a relatively stable medium, reflective of retrospective fetal hormone levels.

Methods: Hormone concentrations were measured in 14 hair samples from 8 individuals, including serial samples and from different sites, and across a variety of ages. Following the optimisation of hair preparation, washing and hormone extraction; cortisol, aldosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and bile acids were quantified using ELISA immunoassays. Linear regression was used to interrogate relationships between samples from different ages and between hormones. Spike recovery and linearity under dilution were used to assess the reliability of results.

Results: Cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, aldosterone and bile acids were measurable in many hair samples. No significant relationship could be demonstrated between different analyte concentrations, ages, years or between immunoassay plates. Analysis of spike and recovery has shown a variable retrieval of expected concentrations.

Discussion: This study has demonstrated an ability to quantify concentrations of cortisol, aldosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and bile acids from human hair using ELISA kits. Further research aims to improve analyte retrieval and validate these findings using larger numbers of adult hair, adapting the methodology as required for use in neonatal hair.