Relationship between genetic anomalies of different levels and deviations in dermatoglyphic traits Part 6: Dermatoglyphic peculiarities of males and females with cleft lip (with or without cleft palate) and cleft palate - Family study

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of polygenic morbi dity with respect to Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip with or without Cleft Palat e (CL) in males and females based on dermatoglyphic traits (DT) and indices of intraindividual diversity (Diu), fluctuating (FA) and directional (DA) asymmetry. The main objectives of the present study were as follows: a) to find DT and FA indices, which could be "marker" traits and could indicate t he degree of developmental instability of the organism; b) to explore the p ossibility of using DT, FA, Div and DA indices of CL patients and their par ents and to predict the likelihood of the disease appearing in the offsprin gs of apparently healthy individuals. The samples were of 106 CL patients ( 59 males and 47 females) and 156 of their parents (67 fathers and 89 mother s), all Israeli Jews. The prints were collected in the Beilinson (Petah-Tik va) and Ranbam (Haifa) and Hadassah (Mount Scopus, Jerusalem) Hospitals, or in the abodes of the CL patients. The results were compared with the contr ol group of healthy women and men whose data are detailed in our previous p ublication(1). Interpretation of the prints were done according to the meth ods(2,3) and included identification of patterns, ridge counts and the meas urements of distances and angles in the palms, 79 DT for every individual, 28 continuous traits, 9 discrete traits, 11 indices of Div, 15 DA indices a nd 16 FA indices. In CL groups increased FA indices values were found and a decreased sexual dimorphism in DT of the CL and parental groups as compared to the control - this both in terms of the number of significant differences, as well as in values of the traits (e.g. smaller differences between the male and female values). The above mentioned findings were partly confirmed also by the di scriminant analysis. The values of DT parents were generally similar to tho se of the control. The best discrimination was obtained between the CL and control groups (70.44% between CL males and control males and 83.47% betwee n CL females and control females).