Dermatoglyphic Features in Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and/or Palate Patients and Their Parents in China.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that indicators and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) on fingers and palms in nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLVP) and their parents were affected by developmental instability and to investigate a potential way for prenatal diagnosis of NSCL/P. Design: Case-control study. Setting: West China College of Stomatology and Chengdu Children's Hospital, Chengdu, China. Participants: Three hundred sixty NSCL/P patients and their 720 unaffected parents were collected. Two hundred ninety normal children and their 580 parents were selected as the control. Main outcome measures: Total ridge counts, atd angle, fingerprints pattern types, a-b ridge count, and true pattern (TP) on palm were determined. For each indicator, asymmetry between hands was defined. Pattern types and asymmetries were statistically compared among groups. Result: Compared with the control, NSCL/P patients had significantly greater a-b ridge count for both hands (P < .001), decreased TP in the left thenar area (TA) as well as in the hypothenar area (HA) and interdigital third area (I3) (all P < .05), and increased FA in HA and I3 (both P < .05), while their parents had greater a-b ridge counts (P < .001). NSCL/P patients possessed more slowly developing patterns and higher levels of FA on their palms, followed by their parents and then the controls. Conclusion: A-b ridge count could be a potential prenatal indicator in people without family history that are at increased risk of having a child with NSCL/P. The increased tendency for slower development of patterns and higher levels of FA indirectly support the possibility that the developmental sequence of ridges in NSCL/P is retarded. However, further work is still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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