Estimation of zinc and other trace elements in the nails of Hungarian adult twin pairs by neutron activation analysis.

Abstract

Nail samples of 157 adult Hungarian twin pairs were examined for different trace elements by neutron activation analysis. Comparing the within-pair-concordance for zinc contents of the twins of different zygosity, a much higher concordance in monozygotes than in dizygotes was observed. The authors suggest the idea that the zinc content in the human organism, at least in some organs, may be genetically controlled.