3 research outputs found
THE PRESENCE OF MINOR PHYSICAL ANOMALIES OF A HAND IN PATIENTS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS
Introduction: Minor physical anomalies (MPA) are subtle morphological deviations with little to none clinical significance that
are developed prenatally and therefore could be an indicator of structural changes in the brain developing at the same time. Aim of
this study was to determine whether the MPA of the hand can distinguish psychotic patients from patients with non-psychotic
diagnoses as well as from the healthy individuals.
Subjects and methods: 100 consecutive patients from the University Hospital Center Zagreb, Department of psychiatry, were
included in this case-control study along with 100 healthy control subjects. Investigators examined the dorsal and palmar side of the
hand and were blind to the patient’s diagnoses previous to the examination. Examined MPA included thenar crease, proximal
transverse crease, proximal interphalangeal joint, eponychium of the middle digit, fingernail size and digital flexibility.
Results: Results showed significant differences in the quantity of MPA between the patients and the control group, as well as
differences between patients with psychosis and the healthy subjects.
Conclusions: Despite the fact that previous studies demonstrated characteristic distribution of specific MPA in schizophrenia,
this study did not prove such results. Moreover, this study showed that all the MPA are equally common in both schizophrenia and
other psychoses