Antimony accumulation in hair during treatment of leishmaniasis.

We used instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to determine antimony in small quantities of hair from individuals living in an area of endemic leishmaniasis. The groups studied were 12 patients undergoing treatment with N-methylglucamine antimoniate, 34 patients who had received such treatment a year ago, and 17 control subjects (untreated) who were living in the same area. Patients receiving treatment showed mean and median (12.13, 2.9 micrograms/g) values for antimony in hair that significantly exceeded those in either controls (1.01, 0.4 microgram/g) or patients one year after treatment (1.54, 1.0 microgram/g). We conclude that INAA can be useful in monitoring and differentiating such exposure to antimony in patients under treatment.