Qualitative dermatoglyphic traits in brachial plexus palsy

It has been considered for many years that the cause of perinatal brachial plexus palsy (PBPP) is excessive lateral traction applied to the fetal head at delivery, in association with anterior shoulder dystocia, but this do not explain all cases of brachial plexus palsy. The incidence found in several family members could be suggestive for inheritance with variable expression. The aim of this study was to prove early found confirmations of genetic predisposition for PBPP In the previous studies, the quantitative dermatoglyphic analysis showed some differences in digito-palmar dermatoglyphs between patients with PBPP and healthy controls. Now this qualitative analysis will try to determine hereditary of those diseases. We analyzed digito-palmar dermatoglyphics from 140 subjects (70 males and 70 females) diagnosed with PBPP and 400 phenotypically healthy adults (200 males and 200 females) from Zagreb area as control group. The results of Chi-square test showed statistically significant differences for frequencies of patterns on fingers in females between the groups observed. Statistically significant differences were found on palms in III and IV interdigital areas in both males and females and in thenar and I interdigital area only in females. As it was found in previous researches on quantitative dermatoglyphic traits, more differences are found between females with PBPP and control group, than between males. The fact, that the main presumed cause of PBPP is obstetrical trauma, it could be associated with congenital variability in formation of brachial plexus.     

Geographic variation of six dermatoglyphic traits in Eurasia

We describe the geographic variation patterns of six dermatoglyphic traits from 144 samples in Eurasia. The methods of analysis include computation of interpolated surfaces, one-dimensional and directional correlograms, correlations between all pairs of surfaces, and distances between correlograms. There are at least two, probably three, distinct and significant patterns of variation. 1) A general NW-SE trend for pattern intensity, the main line index, and frequency of hypothenar patterns. 2) A trend from the Middle East to the north and east for frequency of axial triradius and of accessory interdigital triradii. 3) A patchy pattern for frequency of the thenar-interdigital 1. The results are compatible with a diffusion process between Europe and the peoples of Northern Asia, and possibly with a radiation of populations from the Middle East. The hypothesis of diffusion processes is supported by substantial interpopulation correlations between dermatoglyphic traits that contrast sharply with largely negligible intralocality correlations. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Race differences in the sex dimorphism of dermatoglyphic traits

For three dermatoglyphic traits it could be proved that there are racial differences in sex dimorphism. The results are as follow: (1) For the index of pattern intensity (158 samples), the sex difference is significantly higher in Negroids than in Europoids and Mongoloids. (2) For total ridge count, the sex difference is lower in Negroids than in Europoids. The discrepancy between (1) and (2) has been discussed. (3) The number of samples with higher frequencies of palmar patterns in males than in females is significantly higher in Negroids than in Mongoloids and Europoids for the hypothenar and III interdigital and lower in Mongoloids than in Europoids and Negroids for the II interdigital (max. 127 samples).     

Qualitative dermatoglyphic traits as measures of population distance

Thirteen Iranian populations of diverse origin have been analyzed for qualitative dermatoglyphic features utilizing bilateral finger and palmar prints of 3,158 individuals. Bimanual differences were significant for some of the features examined, whereas sex differences were frequently nonsignificant. Interpopulational variation displayed significant heterogeneity for all of the features studied. Distance analysis and constructed dendrograms provided separation between populations in agreement with known ethnohistoric records for hypothenar triradii, and for palmar and finger patterns, but not for the terminations of the D-Line.     

Comparative analysis of dermatoglyphic traits in Hungarian and Gypsy populations

We examined dermatoglyphic prints of children in 11 Hungarian and 5 Gypsy population samples (collected from 1,998 children). We compared Hungarian and Gypsy populations based on 22 finger and 24 palmar traits. In univariate comparisons the two ethnic groups differed significantly in half of the studied variables (9 finger and 14 palmar traits). We used several types of multivariate analyses of the studied traits to separate the population samples. Homogeneity analysis and discriminant analysis proved to be the most appropriate method to distinguish the populations, whereas a principal components analysis was less adequate. Multivariate analyses were conducted separately for both finger and palmar traits. Although the differences between the populations were more pronounced for palmar traits, in our study Hungarian and Gypsy populations showed the best separation when finger and palmar traits were combined for analysis, except in the principal components analysis. As expected, the Hungarian and Gypsy populations separated definitely in most statistical analyses; the main reason for this is the different origins of the two ethnic groups. The existence of the difference also shows that admixture between Hungarians and Gypsies has been small despite their living beside one another for several centuries.     

Specific dermatoglyphic traits of patients with occupational allergic bronchitis

Dermatoglyphic traits proved to be closely associated with chronic mechanic bronchitis (CMB). With the most informative traits identified, it is possible to estimate the individual predisposition to this occupational disorder and thereby to increase the efficiency of preliminary and follow-up medical examinations. Comparison with data on dermatoglyphic traits predisposed to various types of pneumoconiosis supported the hypothesis on a single mechanical lung disease or "general dust lung disease".     

Qualitative dermatoglyphic traits in ovarian cancer patients: a case-control study

The authors investigated the correlation between the occurrence of certain qualitative dermatoglyphic traits and the susceptibility to ovarian cancer, using the case-control design. A sample of 168 diseased cases, treated at the University Department of Gynecologic Oncology in Zagreb, Croatia between 1996-1997 was compared to 200 healthy females, investigated at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb. The results showed significant differences between ovarian cancer cases and healthy controls regarding the frequency of arches on the fingers of both hands (10-11% vs. 4-5%, respectively, p < 0.05), and of characteristic patterns on the palms of right hand (33% vs. 54% in 3rd interdigital space (IS), p < 0.001; 39% vs. 47% in 4th IS, p < 0.05) and of the left hand (42% vs. 58% in 4th IS, p < 0.001; 24% vs. 34% in hypothenar, p < 0.01). Although probably neither very sensitive nor specific, these findings could still be used in addition to other diagnostic procedures, as a rough screening method in early detecting of ovarian cancer.     

Genetic and environmental influence on the asymmetry of dermatoglyphic traits

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is defined as random deviations from bilateral symmetry of the body. Thus, its magnitude is often used to evaluate developmental homeostasis. In this study we evaluate the following hypotheses: 1) FA of dermatoglyphic traits has a significant genetic component; 2) prenatal maternal environment (PME) has a significant effect on the FA of dermatoglyphic traits in developmentally healthy individuals; and 3) genetic or environmental factors affect FA on organismal or systemic levels. Therefore, their effect is better seen in composite scores of FA rather than in FA indices for single traits. We analyzed 15 dermatoglyphic traits from 140 pairs of monozygous twins, 120 pairs of dizygous twins, and 106 pairs of mothers and daughters. All individuals were developmentally healthy. The influence of genetic and environmental factors on FA was evaluated by analysis of variance and regression analysis. For a majority of the traits in our study, FA showed significant but weak heritabilities, with values falling within the 0.20-0.35 range. None of the traits taken separately demonstrated the effect of PME on FA to be significantly greater than zero. The composite score of FA tended to have greater heritability values than individual traits. One of them, obtained in principal components analysis, showed a significant PME effect, supporting the hypothesis that FA is a systemic property.     

Sexual dimorphism in digital dermatoglyphic traits among Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender-wise diversity of digital dermatoglyphic traits in a sample of Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka.

Findings

Four thousand and thirty-four digital prints of 434 Sinhalese individuals (217 males and 217 females) were examined for their digital dermatoglyphic pattern distribution. The mean age for the entire group was 23.66 years (standard deviation = 4.93 years). The loop pattern is observed more frequently (n = 2,592, 59.72%) compared to whorl (n = 1,542, 35.53%) and arch (n = 206, 4.75%) in the Sinhalese population. Females (n = 1,274, 58.71%) have a more ulnar loop pattern than males (n = 1,231, 56.73%). The plain whorl pattern is observed more frequently in males (n = 560, 25.81%) compared to females (n = 514, 23.69%).The double loop pattern is observed more frequently on the right and left thumb (digit 1) of both males and females. Pattern intensity index, Dankmeijer index and Furuhata index are higher in males.

Conclusions

Ulnar loop is the most frequently occurring digital dermatoglyphic pattern among the Sinhalese. All pattern indices are higher in males. To some extent, dermatoglyphic patterns of Sinhalese are similar to North Indians and other Caucasoid populations. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to confirm our findings.     

Population structure in Sardinia on the basis of quantitative palmar dermatoglyphic traits

We describe the genetic structure of twenty Sardinian subpopulations using quantitative palmar dermatoglyphic traits (a-b, and A-d counts, atd angle value, coefficient of Turpin and Lejeune, main line index, mean of A-, B-, C, and D-line terminations) of 3777 subjects (2043 males and 1734 females). The twenty subdivisions represent sixteen historical-geographic areas of the island in which people speaks Sardinian language, Sassarese and Gallura areas in which people speaks two Italian dialects, and the two communities of Alghero (Catalan speaking) and Carloforte (Ligurian speaking). Analysis was carried out for both hands and both sexes combined and using R-matrix technique and the extension of the Harpending-Ward model to quantitative traits according to Relethford & Blangero (1990). Multivariate minimum F_st value (0.0127) is higher than that of most. Mediterranean populations and shows the importance of isolation and genetic drift as evolutive forces at the basis of microdifferentiation among the Sardinian subpopulations considered. However, when the four populations not speaking Sardinian language are removed from the analysis, the value of F_st decreases to 0.008. The regression of mean genetic variance on distances from the centroid (r_ii values) states the marked effect of the genetic drift for Nuorese and Barbagia di Ollolai subdivisions (placed in the inner and mountainous areas of Sardinia) and reveals considerable levels of admixture for Carloforte subdivision. The contemporary genetic structure of these groups reflects their historical, linguistic and geographic characteristics. On the whole, our analysis confirms the usefulness of quantitative dermatoglyphic traits in studying genetic population structure.     

Relationship between genetic anomalies of different levels and deviation in dermatoglyphic traits

The present study is carried out to evaluate the effect of chromosomal morbidity (82% are 47XXY and in the remaining cases there is the extra X and/or Y) in the males with Klinefelter’s syndrome, based on dermatoglyphic traits and indices of diversity and asymmetry. The main objectives of the present study is to find dermatoglyphic traits and fluctuating asymmetry indices which could be “marker traits” and could indicate the degree of developmental instability of the organism. The sample of males with Klinefelter’s syndrome (N=171) was collected in the Institute of Human Genetics of Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel, by Professor Bat-Miriam Katznelson during 20 years, between 1968–1988. All patients were confirmed by chromosomal examination. The finger and palm prints were collected with the aid of pads manufactured by Lamedco Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A. Interpretation of the prints was according to Cummins and Midlo (1961) and Penrose (1968) and included identification of patterns, ridge counts and the measurements of distances sum of and angles in the palms. 79 dermatoglyphic variables for every patient: 28 continuous traits, 9 discrete traits, 11 indices of intra-individual diversity, 15 indices of directional asymmetry and 16 indices of fluctuating asymmetry were estimated. The problem of asymmetry, fluctuating and directional and of intraindividual diversity of quantitative dermatoglyphic traits is reviewed here as well as illustrated by data obtained on a sample of healthy control group of Jews from Israel. In this first part of our paper we will discuss the data on individual dermatoglyphic traits on digits and palms. The second part will be dedicated to multivariate analysis in order to compare between Klinefelter’s syndrome and control healthy individuals based on quantitative dermatoglyphic traits and indices of diversity and asymmetry.     

A study of relationship between pulmonary tuberculosis and palmar dermatoglyphic traits

Bilateral inked palmar impressions of 150 male tubercular patients and those of 150 normal controls (males) have been studied comparatively. Patients and controls show deviation from each other with respect to 1. biological concordance-disconcordance in line C and hypothenar patterns, 2. bilateral and left-homolateral (not right) differences in Plato's modal types of line C and 3. occurrence of hypothenar (R + L only) and III interdigital patterns (L-homolateral only). It is significant that tubercular patients do not show any difference with the normal controls in a reliable measure like main-line-index and by and large in occurrence of patterns also (with two exceptions only). Natural selection does not seem to be operative on palmar dermatoglyphic traits.     

Sexual dimorphism in dermatoglyphic traits and fluctuating asymmetry in Bulgarians from northeast Bulgaria

In parallel with the development of dermatoglyphics as a method of identification, data have been accumulated on the characteristics of fingerprints related to sex and ethnic origin which make up the statistical basis of this study. The aims of the present study are to determine phenotype variations in the asymmetry of dermatoglyphics in both sexes within the scope of the entire hand skin ridge system; to investigate correlations between the phenotypes; and, to assess the fluctuating asymmetry among the Bulgarian population from the region of northwest Bulgaria. The sample consists of 894 unrelated, clinically healthy individuals (480 females and 414 males) aged 18–50 years, who live in towns and villages in the northwest provinces.Finger and palmar prints were collected using rolled print (inked) method. Twenty dermatoglyphics variables of fingers and hands, separately for right and left hands and jointly for both hands, were statistically assessed. The material was processed by SPSS 12 software. The results of the present study show distinctive sexual differences. Higher values in males are recorded in finger ridge counts, the Furuhata and Cummins indices, the palm ridge counts and the overall ridge counts in all interdigital areas. Males have higher frequency values in patterns Hy, Th/III and Th/IV.     

Inheritance of dermatoglyphic traits in twins: univariate and bivariate variance decomposition analysis

Dermatoglyphic traits in a sample of twins were analyzed to estimate the resemblance between MZ and DZ twins and to evaluate the mode of inheritance by using the maximum likelihood-based Variance decomposition analysis. The additive genetic variance component was significant in both sexes for four traits--PII, AB_RC, RC_HB, and ATD_L. AB RC and RC_HB had significant sex differences in means, whereas PII and ATD_L did not. The results of the Bivariate Variance decomposition analysis revealed that PII and RC_HB have a significant correlation in both genetic and residual components. Significant correlation in the additive genetic variance between AB_RC and ATD_L was observed. The same analysis only for the females sub-sample in the three traits RBL, RBR and AB_DIS shows that the additive genetic RBR component was significant and the AB_DIS sibling component was not significant while others cannot be constrained to zero. The additive variance for AB DIS sibling component was not significant. The three components additive, sibling and residual were significantly correlated between each pair of traits revealed by the Bivariate Variance decomposition analysis.     

Intergenerational trend of some dermatoglyphic traits in Vaidyas of West Bengal, India

In order to investigate the intergenerational change of dermatoglyphics, fingerprints of 400 individuals were collected from an endogamous caste Vaidyas of Barasat, West Bengal. Results were compared with the data of an earlier sample of Banerjee collected in 35 years before on the same community of the same area. As it is generally known that dermatoglyphics is selectively neutral, thus if no other evolutionary forces play a role, we cannot expect any change of dermatoglyphic characters after several years. In the present study, non-significant change in the frequency of pattern and more or less same PII have been observed in both sexes. But significant quantitative differences were found between the two samples. These differences may not be due to the change of intra-uterine environment, rather due to the inter-observer error of these two studies and the small sample size of the earlier study. Because though same methods were used in both studies, inter-observer variation is much possible in ridge counting than pattern type determination.     

Inheritance of 18 quantitative dermatoglyphic traits based on factors in MZ and DZ twins

18 quantitative finger and palmar dermatoglyphic traits were analyzed with the aim of determining genetic effects and common familial environmental influences on a large (358 nuclear pedigrees) number of twins (MZ and DZ). Genetic analysis based on principal factors includes variance and bivariate variance decomposition analysis. Especially, Factor 1 (digital pattern size) is remarkable, due to its degree of universality. The results of genetic analysis revealed all three extracted factors have significant proportion of additive genetic variance (93.5% to 72.9%). The main results of bivariate variance decomposition analysis appears significant correlation in residual variance between digital pattern size factor (Factor 1) versus finger pattern intensity factor (Factor 4), and palmar main lines factor (Factor 2) verses a-b ridge count (Factor 3), but there was no significant correlation in the genetic variance of factors.     

Three palmar dermatoglyphic traits and their asymmetry in Bulgarian right-, mixed- and left-handers

Summary: In a sample, comprising 264 right-, 246 mixed- and 360 left-handers (RH, MH and LH, correspondingly), the atd-angle, the a-b ridge count and the hypothenar radial arch were investigated, the asymmetry of both quantitative traits differentiated into directional (DA) and fluctuating (FA) one. Except for the FA of the a-b ridge count in females, which decreased significantly from RH to LH, the trends observed in the relations between the investigated dermatoglyphic values and handedness were not significant. In both quantitative traits the most important finding was the categorical left-palm excess over the right palm, since it was significantly related to sex and handedness, being much more expressed in females than in males and in the non-right-handers than in the right-handers. The hypothenar radial arch, along with its considerably higher frequency in females than in males and on the right palm than on the left, as well as its rarity combined with a very high symmetry, displayed another interesting peculiarity. The pattern was 3.9-fold more frequent in the MH and 3.4-fold more frequent in the LH as compared to RH. As witnessed by the odds ratio, if a given palm belongs to a non-right-hander, the probability that it bears a hypothenar radial arch is nearly 4-fold higher than if it were a palm of a right-hander. Arguments are adduced that left-handedness, although not a pathological character is, to say the least, a modified condition and that, similarly, the hypothenar radial arch is a subnormal dermatoglyphic finding. If such is the case, their relationship found by the present study is not surprising, although its causal background still remains unclear.     

The analysis of quantitative dermatoglyphic traits in the rural population of the island of Hvar

This paper relates to the study of the quantitative properties of digitopalmar dermatoglyphics (TRC, PII, a-b, b-c and c-d ridge-counts, and atd angle) of the inhabitants of the eastern and western part of the island of Hvar, as part of the multidisciplinary studies. The results have provided no evidence to support the hypothesis about the existence, in relation to the dermatoglyphic characteristics analysed, of the genetically different groups living in the same biotope.     

Relationship between genetic anomalies of different levels and deviations in dermatoglyphic traits. Part 7: Dermatoglyphic peculiarities of females with cervical and endometrial carcinoma

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of neoplastic diseases like carcinoma of the cervix and endometrial carcinoma, and was based on dermatoglyphic traits and their indices of intraindividual diversity (Div), fluctuating asymmetry (FIA) and directional asymmetry (DA). The results were compared with control groups of women and men, whose data have been detailed in our previous publications (Kobyliansky et al., 1999 a-d), and with analogous data of additional cancer groups available in the literature, like acute leukemia, bronchial cancer and breast cancer. The general aims of the study were as follows: (a) to obtain a dermatoglyphic characterization of discrete and quantitative traits and their Div, DA, FIA values in cancer patients, compared to healthy control groups, both female and male; (b) to test the hypothesis that in cancer patients there is an increased level of FIA as a result of an impaired developmental homeostasis; (c) to explore the possibility of using DT (dermatoglyphic traits) data of CW (women with cancer) to predict the probability of the appearance of cervical and endometrial carcinoma in apparently healthy females at a young age. The sample consisted of 94 Israeli-Jewish women of various groups, of which 54 had endometrial carcinoma and 40 had cervical carcinoma. The prints were collected in the Tel-Hashomer Hospital. The control group was a sample of 874 healthy subjects, half of them male and the other female, all from Jewish communities of European extractions (50%) as well as from Africa (50%). All controls were adults (over 18 years of age). Interpretation of prints was performed according to Cummins & Midlo (1961) and Penrose (1968) and included identification of patterns, ridge counts and the measurement of distances and angles in the palms, 79 DT for every individual were assessed. Significant differences were found for some of the studied traits between cancer patients and their healthy control groups. We encountered merely a low sexual dimorphism between the CW and the control males as compared to that between control males and females (with significant differences in 18% of the quantitative traits vs 64% in the control). The indices of diversity and asymmetry proved more suitable for discrimination, yielding the highest discrimination level between CW and control females. This finding suggested other data in the present study which points to a similarity between CW and control males.