Dermatoglyphics of Down's syndrome patients in Malays--a comparative study.

There has been no recent report on the dermatoglyphics of the Malays (normal population as well as patients with Down's syndrome). A study on the frequencies of the dermal patterns (dermatoglyphics) of the digits, palms and hallucal areas was done therefore in 40 Malay patients with Down's syndrome and 200 unrelated normal controls. Only the patients with the standard 21 trisomy karyotype were included in the study. Comparison was made with the published data on studies done in various racial groups. Significant differences of the dermal patterns were found not only between the controls but also among patients of different races.