brittle nails or "brittle nails syndrome." It may be triggered by abnormal levels of keratin, water, lipids, or proteins in the nails and often occurs with advancing age. Brittle nails can also be ...

Infected nails usually have a thick, yellow appearance and can become coarse and brittle (see Figure 4 ... incidence in children with Down's syndrome or HIV (Baran, Hay, Tosti, & Haneke, 1998).