Hair copper in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Rats fed on a copper-enriched diet develop increased liver copper concentrations, which correlate well with hair copper content. It has been suggested that in man, hair copper analysis may be a useful noninvasive method for predicting liver copper concentrations. We have tested this hypothesis in 11 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, a disease complicated by the accumulation of copper in the liver. Ten patients had increased liver copper concentrations, but only one had increased hair copper. In primary biliary cirrhosis, hair copper does not reflect liver copper content and is of no value as a biopsy material for copper analysis.