22 Developmental Noise and Congenital Malformation

A greater asymmetry in the atd angle of the palmer dermatoglyphics and the maximum buccal-lingual diameter of the lower first molars of children affected with familial cleft lip±cleft palate is reported.

Abstract

The causes of non-directional asymmetry of paired organs has been referred to as developmental ‘noise’ (WADDINGTON, C.H.: The Strategy of the genes [Allen and Unwin 1957]). Thus the level of asymmetry is inversely correlated to the degree of developmental stability. We report here a greater asymmetry in the atd angle of the palmer dermatoglyphics and the maximum buccal-lingual diameter of the lower first molars of children affected with familial cleft lip±cleft palate. This increased asymmetry was not present in the normal sibs or parents of the affected children. Neither was it present in propositi and families of sporadic cleft lip ± cleft palate or isolated cleft palate. Sufficient data are not available to determine the asymmetry of familial cleft palate without cleft lip. A total of 88 families with at least one member affected with an oral cleft and 82 families with no cleft history were examined. The action of polygenes with a quasi-continuous distribution may be consistent with this new observation. Consideration of such mechanisms may offer some explanation for the diversity of results from investigations seeking to identify characteristic dermatoglyphic and dental anomalies in patients with congenital malformations. (SPR)