Quantitative analysis of digitopalmar dermatoglyphics in male children with central nervous system lesion by quantification of clinical parameters of locomotor disorder.

Palmar and fingerprints of 122 male children with central nervous system lesion were analyzed for possible prevention of cerebral palsy. Eighteen variables of epidermal ridge count were examined: ten on either hand fingers, and four on either palm, and on a-b, b-c and c-d triradii, with atd angle. Patients were divided into two groups: 61 patients with severe lesion (score range 20-29) and 61 patients with moderate lesion (score range 30-39). Fingerprints of 200 male subjects from the Zagreb area served as controls. Statistically significant differences were found for five variables in the group of patients with severe lesion, i.e. on the second finger of the right hand, between a-b and b-c triradii of the right palm, and between a-b and c-d triradii of the left palm. Accordingly, a clinically severe lesion to the central nervous system was quite probably accompanied by certain deviation in the metric traits of the patients' digitopalmar dermatoglyphics, which might prove useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease, thus also for timely and more successful treatment. In children with the presence of risk factors, palmar and fingerprints should be taken in the immediate postnatal period in order to prevent the development of risk symptoms. In those with risk findings, the treatment with intensive medical exercise should be introduced to minimize clinical manifestation of the central nervous system lesion. It should be emphasized that, due to brain plasticity, the best results are obtained if the treatment is performed within nine months after birth, whereafter considerably poorer results are achieved.