Sexual dimorphism of papillary number (PN) and main line index (MLI) among autistic patients of West Bengal, India

Abstract

Dermatoglyphic traits area well-known clinical marker for several congenital malformations and neurodevelopment disorders. The dermatoglyphic patterns and neural tissues originate from the ectodermic layer within the first and second trimesters of intrauterine life and are unaltered throughout an individual's life. Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant disturbances in social-communicative and behavioral functioning. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first attempt to understand the relationshipbetween Papillary Number (PN) and Main Line Index (MLI) as an assessment of Sexual Dimorphism among the Autisticpatients from Bengalee Hindu caste population of West Bengal, India. To achieve this purpose, bilateral palm prints of 100 (67 males and 33 females) diagnosed Autistic patients and 100 (55 males and 45 females) healthy controls without any family history of Autism have been collected from the Bengalee Hindu caste population of West Bengal. All the prints were collected by the standard Ink and Roller Method (Cummins & Midlo, 1961).The result demonstrated that significant (p<0.05) sexual dimorphism on the PN and MLI was found between the Autistic males and Autistic females combing both hands. Nevertheless, the controls never showed any sexual dimorphism in the context of PN and MLI. Therefore, the present study suggests that the sexual dimorphism of the PN and MLI among Autistic patients might be other beneficial dermatoglyphic traits for Autism detection.