Doctor’s Data Hair Elements

[Rebecca Parker]

Hi Dr. Woeller.

Do you run Doctor’s Data Hair Elements on all autistic patients? If not, in which cases do you run this test? Dr. Amy Yasko writes that she runs this test to rule out lithium deficiency before supplementing with B-12 because B-12 supplementation can further deplete lithium if it is not addressed first. Do you find this to be true? I am also wondering if you find lithium depletion to be a problem for patients with depression and/or anxiety?

Thank you!
Rebecca

[DrWoeller]

Rebecca,
Yes, if I can. I will either do the test through Doctor’s Data or Great Plains Laboratory (GPL) depending on whether someone is also doing other testing through GPL. It is the same test.

I have heard this too about Yasko, but I do not know how true it is or how common. For years I have given B12 with great effectiveness and have not seen the lithium drop on the hair test.

The lithium is commonly low in other groups of people too such as Schizophrenia. I do not have a large comparison for depression/anxiety in general compared to the Autism, but my suspicion is it would be low in these groups too.

Sincerely,
Dr. Woeller

[Rebecca Parker]

Thanks very much! Do you find that the hair test is a reliable indicator of other metals (besides lithium)? If so, which ones? Which ones are less reliable?

[DrWoeller]

Rebecca,
I always use the Hair Metals Test as an initial screen. From there, if needed, I might do urinary metals with a challenge chelator. But, this option is not something I really do much anymore. For minerals, the hair analysis is good overall for Zinc, Manganese, Selenium, Chromium, Sulfur and Lithium. There may be a few others I am missing, e.g. Iodine? It is not great for all minerals, but good overall and useful.

Dr. Woeller

[Rebecca Parker]

Thank you!

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