COMMENTS ON IMMUNE ASPECTS OF THE GESCHWIND-BEHAN-GALABURDA MODEL ANDOF THE ARTICLE OF BRYDEN, MCMANUS, AND BULMAN-FLEMING

The goal of this article is to reconsider the links among immune disor ders, testosterone, and left-handedness made originally by Geschwind a nd Behan (1982) and by Geschwind and Galaburda (1985). We demonstrate that an excess of testosterone in utero is not a prerequisite for immu ne disorders, because of its destructive action on thymus, and that al lergy and autoimmune disorders are not primarily thyme-dependent but B -lymphocyte-dependent. We furthermore study the HLA proposed by Yeo an d Gangestad (1993) and retained by Bryden, McManus, and Bulman-Fleming as a possible variable that could explain, in replacement of testoste rone, the link among allergy, asthma, and ulcerative colitis. We concl ude that the HLA of lefthanders and the meta-analysis of Bryden et al. do not fit together as well as hoped for. (C) 1994 Academic Press, In c.