title: Ectodermal markers of early developmental impairment in very preterm individuals.
abstract: Individuals born very preterm (before 33 weeks' gestation; VPT) are at risk of life-long, neurological impairments, behavioural and other health problems. It is not clear whether these neurodevelomental abnormalities originate prenatally, postnatally or a combination of both. Dermatoglyphics are stable ectodermal markers of neurodevelopmental disruption in the early prenatal period, as it has previously been reported in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. We have analyzed the dermatoglyphic variable total a-b ridge count (TABRC), which is a sensitive marker of ectodermal disruption during the first 24 weeks of foetal development, in 142 very preterm (VPT) individuals and 64 term born young adults. The VPT group showed significantly lower TABRC than the term group, especially those individuals presenting very low birth weight (VLBW), considered a proxy for more extreme prenatal stress, as shown by a two-way Anova analysis. These individuals, at risk of brain abnormalities and behavioural impairments, may have undergone disturbances before preterm birth occurs and prior to the 24th week of gestation. Our results support that dermatoglyphics represent a suitable marker to detect ectodermal alterations which have occurred very early in the course of development, and point out the vulnerability of the immature brain during the first half of gestation which may have adverse health consequences later in life.
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vilahur
authors.forename: Matthew P G
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Allin
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walshe
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nosarti
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rifkin
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D004475:Ectoderm; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers