Methodological Considerations for Hair Cortisol Measurements in Children

Abstract

Methodological studies suggest that finely cutting hair with sequential incubations in methanol and acetone, repeated twice, extracts greater yields of cortisol than does milled hair. Based on these findings, at least 3 incubations may be required to extract most of the cortisol in human hair samples. In addition, ELISA-based assays showed greater sensitivity for measuring hair cortisol levels than LC-MS-based assays.