Testosterone levels of children with a diagnosis of developmental stuttering

Articulatory effects on perceptions of men's status and attractiveness

Research on heterosexual mating has demonstrated that acoustic parameters (e.g., pitch) of men's voices influence their attractiveness to women and appearance of status and formidability to other men. However, little is known about how men's tendency to clearly articulate their speech influences these important social perceptions. In the current study, we used a repeated-measures design to investigate how men's articulatory clarity or conformity influenced women's (N = 45) evaluations of men's attractiveness for both short- and long-term relationships, and men's (N = 46) evaluations of physical formidability and prestige. Results largely supported our hypotheses: men who enunciated phonemes more distinctly were more attractive to women for long-term relationships than short-term relationships and were perceived by other men to have higher prestige than physical dominance. These findings suggest that aspects of articulatory behavior that influence perceptions of prestige and long-term mating attractiveness may indicate an early social history characterized by high socioeconomic status, likely owing to crystallization of articulatory patterns during the critical period of language development. These articulatory patterns may also be honest signals of condition or disposition owing to the nature of complex, multicomponent traits, which deserve further empirical attention.

Spectrophotometric and chromatographic strategies for exploring of the nanostructure pharmaceutical formulations which contains testosterone undecanoate

The nanostructure pharmaceutical formulations (NPF) which contains testosterone undecanoate (TU) been used in life science as parent compound delivery systems for therapeutic, but and been used to enhance the performance in sport, so it is a significant substance for public health and nutritional supplements. In most Pharmacopoeias testosterone is described as an ester of some lower acids (often propionate). The aim of this study is to determine purity of the parent compound by chromatography and absorption spectrum in the frame of middle infrared. Chemical structure of undecanoate was prepared and used in order to achieve a better absorption. This is explained by increased lipophilicity of undecanoate. Due to its lipophilic character, TU is soluble in non–polar solvents but shows a satisfactory solubility in absolute ethanol. Based on the molecular structure, a moderate absorption in the frame of UV with a maximum absorption at a not too high wave-length can be predicted. Maximum absorption occurs in a spectral region in which usual ingredients do not present significant interference.

2D:4D ratios as an indicator of intrauterine androgen exposure in children who stutter

AIM

We aimed to explore whether there is a relationship between stuttering and digit ratio (2D:4D), which is thought to be a marker of prenatal testosterone exposure.

METHODS

We evaluated a total of 90 children who stutter (CWS; n = 40 mild-to-moderate and n = 50 severe stutters) and 40 healthy peers (CWNS) as controls. We used the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGIS) scale to measure the severity of stuttering. We measured the lengths of index finger (2D) and ring finger (4D) of both hands directly and divided to calculate 2D:4D ratio. The difference between the right and the left hand 2D:4D ratio (D_R-L) was also calculated.

RESULT

Significant difference was found in right 2D:4D and the mean D_R-L between the CWS and CWNS groups. Right 2D:4D was significantly lower in stuttering boys than in control boys, and in stuttering girls than control girls. Also, D_R-L was significantly lower in stuttering boys than control boys. In ANOVA, there were significant differences between the mild-to-moderate, severe stuttering and control groups in terms of right 2D:4D and D_R-L. Right hand 2D:4D and D_R-L decreased from controls to severe stutterers.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that lower right 2D:4D and D_R-L were related to the presence and severity of stuttering in children, i.e. CWS had lower 2D:4D and D_R-L than CWNS. Further large-scale prospective studies are needed to clarify the reliability of 2D:4D ratio as an indicator of fetal sex hormone exposure level and its relation with the presence and severity of stuttering in children.

Cerebral laterality as assessed by hand preference measures and developmental stuttering

The causes of developmental stuttering, a neurodevelopmental communicative disorder, have not been elucidated to date. Neuroimaging studies suggest that atypical cerebral laterality could be one of such causal factors. Moreover, handedness, a behavioural index for cerebral laterality, has been linked to stuttering and recovery from it. However, findings are conflicting, possibly due to sample selection procedures, which typically rely on self-reported stuttering, and to the fact that handedness is typically assessed with regards to its direction rather than degree. We investigated the possible relationship between handedness and stuttering. This is the first study where children who stutter (CWS) were selected using clinical criteria as well as speech samples and where a non-Western population was studied. Findings from 83 CWS aged 3-9 years (mean = 6.43, SD = 1.84) and 90 age- and sex-matched children who do not stutter (mean = 6.45, SD = 1.71) revealed no differences in their hand preference scores as evaluated by parent-completed Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, for both direction and degree. The severity of stuttering was not found to correlate with the degree of handedness. We suggest that parents and professionals not treat left- or mixed-hand preference as a reason for concern with regards to stuttering.

An evaluation of G-protein coupled membrane estrogen receptor-1 level in stuttering

OBJECTIVE

Stuttering is a widespread but little understood disease. There has been a recent increase in neuropathophysiological, genetic, and biochemical studies related to the etiopathogenesis. As developmental stuttering continues in adult males, hormonal factors are thought to have an effect. In this study, an evaluation was made for the first time of serum GPER-1 level in patients with a stutter.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective case control.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study included 30 patients with a stutter, aged < 18 years, and 35 age-matched children as the control group. The Stuttering Severity Instrument-3 form was administered to the patients. Evaluations were made of serum GPER-1, TSH, estradiol, prolactin, and progesterone and testosterone levels.

RESULTS

GPER-1 level was determined as 0.51 (0.42-0.67) ng/mL in the patients and as 0.19 (0.13-0.25) ng/mL in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was determined between genders with GPER-1 level of 0.56 (0.44-0.68) ng/mL in the male stuttering patient group and 0.44 (0.35-0.49) ng/mL in the female patient group (p = 0.026). Differential diagnosis with ROC analysis for the serum GPER-1 levels was statistically significant [Area under the ROC curve (AUC): 0.998, confidence interval, CI 0.992-1.000, p < 0.001].

CONCLUSION

The GPER-1 levels of the stuttering patients were found to be higher than those of the control group and GPER-1 levels of male patients were higher than those of females. As GPER-1 has high sensitivity and sensitivity, it could be considered important in the diagnosis and treatment of stuttering.

Sex steroid hormones and sex hormone binding globulin levels, CYP17 MSP AI (-34T:C) and CYP19 codon 39 (Trp:Arg) variants in children with developmental stuttering

Developmental stuttering is known to be a sexually dimorphic and male-biased speech motor control disorder. In the present case-control study, we investigated the relationship between developmental stuttering and steroid hormones. Serum levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), oestradiol, progesterone, cortisol, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), as well as the 2nd/4th digit ratio (2D:4D), an indicator of prenatal testosterone level, were compared between children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS). Moreover, two SNPs (CYP17 -34 T:C (MSP AI) and CYP19 T:C (Trp:Arg)) of cytochrome P450, which is involved in steroid metabolism pathways, were analysed between the groups. Our results showed significantly higher levels of testosterone, DHT, and oestradiol in CWS in comparison with CWNS. The severity of stuttering was positively correlated with the serum levels of testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol, whereas no association was seen between the stuttering and digit ratio, progesterone, or SHBG. The CYP17CC genotype was significantly associated with the disorder.