title: Nondextrality and autoimmune disorders among relatives of language-disabled boys.
abstract: The incidences of autoimmune diseases, nonrighthandedness, and premature graying of the hair have been said to be increased among the relatives of dyslexic persons. I undertook a prospective evaluation of the relatives of 100 language-disabled boys seen in a tertiary hospital learning disabilities clinic. I established the incidence of these characteristics and compared the results with those obtained from the relatives of 100 boys referred to a neurology clinic for evaluation of seizures or muscle disease. The families of the language-disabled boys were divisible into two groups, one with an increased incidence of these characteristics and one with a decreased incidence as compared with the control group. This suggests a biological heterogeneity among these families, despite a similar phenotype among all the language-disabled probands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Urion
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male