Handedness in children with systemic lupus erythematosus

Hand preference, immune system disorder and cognitive function among gay/bisexual men: the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS)

This study evaluated the self-reported patterns of handedness among a large subsample (n = 1612) of the gay/bisexual men comprising the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). There was a small but significant elevation in left-handedness among gay/bisexual men compared to available normative data. However, there were no differences within the cohort in measures of immune function, self-reported autoimmune disorders, asthma, or hay fever, although there was an association between handedness and allergy. Performance on neuropsychological tests also did not differ as a function of handedness.

Hand preference in homosexual men

The present study examined the distribution of hand preference and its relationship to immune system functioning and performance on neuropsychological tests in a sample of 993 homosexual men from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study comprising 502 HIV-1 seronegatives, 436 asymptomatic HIV-1 seropositives, and 55 men with diagnoses of AIDS or AIDS Related Complex. The prevalence of left-handedness in all of the groups (13.1-14.5%) was consistent with prior published reports of prevalent left-handedness in the general population. The distribution of hand preference scores (on a 5-item self-report questionnaire) was J-shaped and shifted to the right as in the general population. There were no differences between right- and left-handers in the immune system parameter of CD4 counts, nor was there any increase of self-reported allergies among the left-handers. We found a significantly larger number of 'outliers' on the neuropsychological measures for left-handers than for right-handers, both for HIV-1 seronegatives and seropositives. These results failed to replicate Lindesay's (1987) report of a leftward shift in manual preference among homosexual men, and failed to support Geschwind and Galaburda's (1985b) hypothesis of a link between homosexuality, handedness and autoimmune disorder. The differences between right- and left-handers on neuropsychological measures, independent of HIV-1 serostatus, are discussed in terms of Satz's (1972) model of pathological left-handedness.

Immune and autoimmune diseases in dyslexic children

One hundred and five dyslexic and 105 control children were compared for frequency of immune diseases, autoimmune diseases, and non-right-handedness in the light of the Geschwind-Behan (1982) "testosterone hypothesis". The results showed significantly more immune- and autoimmune-diseases int he dyslexic group. There were no differences between the groups in the frequency of non-right-handedness. There were no interactions with gender, although there were more non-right-handed boys than girls in the total sample. Mothers of children who were dyslexic experienced significantly more negative life-events during pregnancy, they also experienced the pregnancy as more difficult, and they had more spontaneous abortions. In conclusion, the results support some aspects of the "testosterone hypothesis", but they also point to a more complex pattern of interaction between the factors that still remain unanswered.

Left-handedness and myasthenia gravis

In two separate studies comparing the handedness of patients suffering from myasthenia gravis with matched controls, no evidence was found to support the Geschwind Behan hypothesis of an association between autoimmune disease and left-handedness. Counter to prediction both studies found marginally lower incidences of left-handedness in myasthenics, and when combined with the similar result of Cosi et al. (Cortex 24, 573-577, 1988) the difference was highly statistically significant. The personality of myasthenics, as assessed by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and in particular the psychoticism scale, which has been postulated to be related to androgen levels, was not significantly different from controls. However, assessment of sex-roles using the Bem Sex Role Inventory suggested that female myasthenics were more masculine than controls.

Systemic lupus erythematosus: learning disability in the male offspring of female patients and relationship to laterality

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic disease that predominates in women during the childbearing years. One system frequently affected is the central nervous system. Seizures and psychoses are criteria useful in the diagnosis of SLE. The effects of this disease on disorders of learning and handedness in both patients and first degree relatives are the subject of the present report. Dyslexia and other disorders of learning were present in 45% (24/55) of male offspring of female SLE patients. Ten percent of male siblings of female SLE patients were learning-impaired. Dyslexia and other disorders of learning are also common in women with SLE (dyslexia 12.5%) and men with SLE where the proband is one of two or more cases of SLE in the same family (dyslexia 27.6%). Tests for handedness in the lupus population indicated that there were slightly more patients (mostly women) (p = 0.08) who were lefthanded by the Oldfield laterality test compared to normal volunteers. Handedness did not correlate with the degree of dyslexia in either the patients or their first degree relatives.