PRILOZI, Odd. med. nauki, XXXIV 2, 2013 MANU CONTRIBUTIONS. Sec. Med. Sci., XXXIV 2, 2013 MASA ISSN 0351-3254 UDC: 616.859.8:512.524 DERMATOGLYPHICS IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA – FINDINGS IN THE MACEDONIAN POPULATION Elizabeta Chadikovska, Dobrila Lazarova, Biljana Zafirova, Biljana Trpkovska, Julija Zhivadinovik Institute of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Skopje, R. Macedonia Corresponding Author: Elizabeta Chadikovska, Institute of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, 50 Divizija, 1000 Skopje, Tel: +389 (0)2 3 12 53 04, +389 (0)2 070 23 31 93, Fax: +389 (0)2 3 12 53 04, E-mail:enikovska@yahoo.com Abstract The human palms and soles are textured with skin different to that of the other body surface. Instead of sebaceous glands or hairs, there are sweat glands opening into epidermal ridges. They are variously oriented, thus forming different patterns. The aim of the study was to assess some dermatoglyphic patterns, the TRC and the a-b ridge count in a sample of patients and a control group of healthy examinees. Material and method: 59 male and 50 female patients with schizophrenia and 60 healthy male and 50 female individuals as a control group were included in the study. Hand prints were taken using the method of Cummins and Midlo; pattern types were determined and classified using the Henry classification. An analysis of pattern frequency in schizophrenia compared to the normal controls was conducted. Results: The patterns most frequently present are loops (ulnar) with greater incidence and whorls with smaller incidence in patients with schizophrenia compared to the healthy individuals. The number of arches is higher in male patients and lower in female patients. Complex patterns are rare. TRC in females has lower values found in patients. The a-b ridge count has significant difference in male and female patients; higher values in male and lower in female patients. Conclusion: There is some association between the frequency of certain dermatoglyphic characte- risticss and schizophrenia. Our findings form a useful database for the dermatoglyphic marks present in patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects of Macedonian nationality. Key words: skin, palm prints, patterns. Introduction Dermatoglyphics are epidermal ridge pat- terns that are formed on the fingers, palms and soles. The dermal ridges are fully formed by the fourteenth week of gestation, therefore only genetic and prenatal environmental factors can influence ridge formation. They have a genetic prediction and undergo a complex process of inheritance. The biological value of dermato- glyphic findings lies in morphological con- stancy of the dermal ridge arrangements, from the time of formation until death [1]. The neuro-developmental hypothesis of schizophrenia suggests that adverse genetic load in conjunction with environmental factors early in foetal life cause disruption of foetal neural development [2]. Despite the growing enthusiasm for a neuro-developmental model of schizophrenia, empirical support for the model is difficult to obtain because the period of the interest (usu- ally prenatal or perinatal) is hard to identify directly. One approach to studying neuro-deve- lopmental factors has been to look for neuro- developmental markers in adult schizophrenic patients. These markers are usually physical characteristics that are measurable in adults and reflect abnormal neuro-developmental processses