TOP 10 Hand Signs indicative for Fragile-X syndrome!

A pair of hands of a female person who has Fragile-X syndrome.

 

– THE TOP 10 HAND SIGNS FOR RECOGNIZING FRAGILE-X SYNDROME –

This TOP 10 is composed from a list of 34 hand signs for Fragile-X syndrome, and the hand signs are ranked by Log Odds Ratio – which are calculated from the prevalence (%) among people who have Fragile-X syndrome & controls.

1 – Sydney line [Log Odds Ratio = +3.63]
2 – Ridge line A: ends btw. finger 5 & heart line [Log Odds Ratio = + 3.44]
3 – Triradius b: missing (or ridge line B is ‘abortive’) [Log Odds Ratio = +3.32]
4 – Fingerprints: radial loop on thumb [Log Odds Ratio = +3.28]
5 – Ridge line C: ‘abortive’ [end close to triradius c] [Log Odds Ratio = +3.22]
6 – Simian crease [Log Odds Ratio = +3.08]
7 – Double-jointed thumbs (hypermobility) [Log Odds Ratio = +2.73]
8 – Fingerprints: arch on ring finger [Log Odds Ratio = +2.24]
9 – Fingerprints: arch on pinky finger (in males only) [Log Odds Ratio = +2.14]
10 – Palmar triradius d: missing [Log Odds Ratio = +2.10]

It is interesting to notice here that 7 of the 10 hand signs relate to the upper half of the hand (the zone below the finger + the fingerprints), and additionally the major palmar lines (head line & heart line often manifest as a simian crease or Sydney line) play a significant role.

And it is fascinating to notice that these TOP 10 hand signs significant for Fragile-X syndrome is a mix of hand features that relate to both the palm (7 hand signs) and fingers (3 hand signs).

And these 10 hand signs also relate to five of the seven perspectives described by Multi-Perspective Palm Reading, including: the dermatoglyphics (7 hand signs), major palmar lines (2 hand signs), and hand motorics (1 hand sign).

NOTICE: At a later moment a likewise TOP 10 will be presented for hand signs that are indicative for autism – about 3% of people who have autism also have fragile-X syndrome!

HAND MOTORICS – Hands, Hypermobility & a Hand Motor Quiz!

Hands are by far the most differentiated multi-functional tools of the body. Women usually have more talent for tasks that require the use of fine hand motor skills (involving the fingers). While men have more talent for tasks that require more forcefull & spatial hand motor skills (where the arm becomes involved). But sometimes these ‘hand talents’ are featured with a serious handicap!

The hand motorics of individuals can vary significantly, and the individual difference can manifest skills that relate to e.g. flexibility, mobility, strength, handedness, sensation & hand gestures. But this is common knowledge for quite a while

HANDS & HYPERMOBILITY:

An example of how a ‘hand talent’ can be featured with a servious handicap concerns having hyperflexible hands, which is also known as ‘double jointed thumbs’ or ‘hypermobile fingers’.

People who have this hand characteristic are often able to ‘show’ their talent by making funny gestures such as seen in the picture above. However, hypermobility in the hands may also be symptomatic of a serious medical condition, such as: the hand in Down’s syndrome, the hand in fragile-X syndrome,  the hand in Marfan syndrome & the hand in rheumatoid arthritis.

And in those cases Multi-Perspective Palm Reading will become helpfull to discriminate by other hand characteristics – such as e.g. hand shape – which problem is involved. A classic source for learning more about how the hand relates to human behavior & diseases is Dr. Theodore J. Berry‘s  work ‘The Hand as a mirror of Systemic Disease ‘ (1963)

A SIMPLE HAND MOTOR QUIZ!

Below are the hand in 4 disorders displayed, including (listed by alphabetic order):

1 – Marfan syndrome;
2 – Down syndrome; 
3 – rheumatoid arthritis. 

Can you recognize in the picture below which of these three disorders belongs to the hands A, B and C…???

HAND SHAPE – Male vs. female differences, racial differences & IQ!

A male hand + a female hand.

Hand shape varies between the sexes: males typically haver larger + relatively broader hands. Hand shape also varies among the races: in Asia the avarage hand shape is relatively narrower than in European & North American countries. And there is even a link between hand shape & intelligence!

But in order to understand these patterns properly, one first has to understand the relations ship between hand shape & body length. Because in general, all longer populations in the world (males, Europeans & North Americans) typically display a relatively broad hand shape, while all small populations (females, Asians) typically display a relatively narrow hand shape.

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HAND INDEX:

A good measure to describe the shape of the hand is the so-called ‘hand index’, which is defined as the ratio between the ‘hand width’ (= palm width measured at the metacapals) vs. the ‘hand length’ (= the distance between the tip of the middle finger and the distal wrist crease).

The average ‘hand index’ in human kind is close to 0.44, and is typically much higher than the ‘hand index’ seen in primates, which is typically (far) below 0.40 (though in gorillas – the largest of all primate species – the ‘hand index’ is higher than 0.40).

NOTICE: Finger length can also be measured relative to ‘hand length’ & ‘hand width’, but that topic will be discussed later.

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HAND SHAPE & SEXE:

In males the ‘hand index’ is typically higher than 0.44, and measures above 0.45 are often seen. While in females the ‘hand index’ is typically lower than 0.44, and measures below 0.43 are not rare at all. These sexe differences are for a large part the result of the body height differences between males and females.

HAND SHAPE & RACE:

The average ‘hand index’ among the various races differs significantly, and is typically lower among asians. In people from China does not vary a lot from the average of human kind, but among for example people from Japan & India the ‘hand index’ is typically close to 0.43 or even lower. At least partly these differences are explained by racial differences in body height.

HAND SHAPE & IQ:

A high hand index typically correlates with a low IQ. And this link between hand shape & IQ has been confirmed in quite a few studies among various types of populations.

In a 1980 study in the former Yugoslavia reported among 540 men a negative correlation between hand index & all 10 measures for IQ.

And the two most common causes for mental retardation (Down syndrome & fragile-X syndrome) are known for having typically a relatively broad hand (= high hand index).

Regarding the sexe differences, one has to be aware of the earlier mentioned point that tall populations typically have a higher ‘hand index’. The fact that women have a lower ‘hand index’ compared to men, is largely neutralized by the fact that women are smaller than men. And therefore there one should not associate this sexe difference with IQ differences among the sexes (because so far there is no evidence for that at all).

And finally there is evidence that when the ‘hand index’ is corrected for body height, then this appears to explain a significant part of the IQ differences that are typically seen between the nations of the world. Though this issue has not been studied thoroughly.

HIGH OR LOW ‘HAND INDEX’ IN INDIVUALS:

The above describes patterns for hand shape implicate that regarding the implications of a high or low ‘hand index’ indivuals, one always has to consider sexe & race before jumping into conclusions!

Time for a hand shape palm reading… what is your ‘hand index’?