Short communicationAutoimmune thyroid disease, left-handedness, and developmental dyslexia
Abstract
Autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) (Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis) has been one of a number of autoimmune diseases possibly associated with left-handedness, mixed dominance, and learning disability. In the present study, 74 men with ATD were compared to 24 control men with non-ATD. An increased frequency of mixed dominance and traits suggestive of dyslexia were observed in the patients with ATD. These data are consistent with a link between the development of ATD and cerebral dominance.
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Laterality, hormones, and immunity
Cited by (19)
Perchlorate, thiocyanate, and nitrate are sodium iodide symporter (NIS) inhibitors that disturb iodide uptake into the thyroid and have been implicated in child development. However, no data are available on the association between exposure to/related with them and dyslexia. Here, we examined the association of exposure to/related with the three NIS inhibitors with the risk of dyslexia in a case-control study. The three chemicals were detected in urine samples of 355 children with dyslexia and 390 children without dyslexia from three cities in China. The adjusted odds ratios for dyslexia were examined using logistic regression models. The detection frequencies of all the targeted compounds were 100%. After adjusting for multiple covariates, urinary thiocyanate was significantly associated with the risk of dyslexia (P-trend = 0.02). Compared with the lowest quartile, children within the highest quartile had a 2.66-fold risk of dyslexia (95% confidence interval: 1.32, 5.36]. Stratified analyses showed that the association between urinary thiocyanate level and the risk of dyslexia was more pronounced among boys, children with fixed reading time, and those without maternal depression or anxiety during pregnancy. Urinary perchlorate and nitrate levels were not associated with the risk of dyslexia. This study suggests the possible neurotoxicity of thiocyanate or its parent compounds in dyslexia. Further investigation is warranted to confirm our findings and clarify the potential mechanisms.
Gender and Age in Lupus
2011, Systemic Lupus ErythematosusThe relationship between age and the morbidity and mortality of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is important and the incidence of disease varies in males and females depending on age. Gender and more specifically sex steroids play an important role in the maturation of organ systems that affect animals throughout life and are therefore important to the health of most vertebrates. The effects of sex steroids on the immune system are profound and long-lasting because they control the growth and maturation of various cell systems and may also influence susceptibility to disease through modulation of immune cell populations, alteration of cytokine levels, control of cell populations through processes such as apoptosis, and change of very basic molecular mechanisms. Lupus is one disease that is highly affected by hormones. Thus, sex steroids are potent modulators of immunity in all animal systems. They are very important in patients with SLE and may help explain the fluctuant activity in lupus disease. Their role in the maturation of the immune system and their effect on the development of organs such as the brain could explain some of the abnormalities found in these systems.
Gender and Age in Lupus
2010, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Fifth EditionThe relationship between age and the morbidity and mortality of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is important and the incidence of disease varies in males and females depending on age. Gender and more specifically sex steroids play an important role in the maturation of organ systems that affect animals throughout life and are therefore important to the health of most vertebrates. The effects of sex steroids on the immune system are profound and long-lasting because they control the growth and maturation of various cell systems and may also influence susceptibility to disease through modulation of immune cell populations, alteration of cytokine levels, control of cell populations through processes such as apoptosis, and change of very basic molecular mechanisms. Lupus is one disease that is highly affected by hormones. Thus, sex steroids are potent modulators of immunity in all animal systems. They are very important in patients with SLE and may help explain the fluctuant activity in lupus disease. Their role in the maturation of the immune system and their effect on the development of organs such as the brain could explain some of the abnormalities found in these systems.
Sexual dimorphism in immune function: The role of prenatal exposure to androgens and estrogens
2000, European Journal of PharmacologyPerinatal exposure to androgens permanently transforms certain tissues, e.g., the brain, the genitalia, etc. This process involves both masculinization and defeminization. Immune function also is transformed by early steroid exposure; however, it is not yet known whether the response capabilities of the immunocytes themselves are directly modified or whether they are responding to signals from other masculinized tissues, e.g., the brain. Most evidence points to a direct effect since androgen and estrogen receptors are present in developing immunocytes. Both androgens and estrogens have a role in regulating adult immunity including Th1/Th2 balance. Adult susceptibility to autoimmune and other diseases is also related to steroid exposure. How immune cells respond to gonadal steroids in adulthood may depend on the pattern of androgenic and estrogenic stimulation during early development.
Learning in year-old female autoimmune BXSB mice
1998, Physiology and BehaviorBOEHM, G. W., G. F. SHERMAN, B. J. HOPLIGHT II, L. A. HYDE, D. M. BRADWAY, A. M. GALABURDA, S. A. AHMED AND V. H. DENENBERG. Learning in year-old female autoimmune BXSB mice. Physiol Behav 64(1) 75–82, 1998. BXSB/MpJ-Yaa and NZB/BINJ mice have been used as animal models for both developmental learning disability and systemic autoimmune disease. Approximately 40–60% of these animals show ectopic clusters of neurons in Layer I of cortex similar to those found in postmortem analyses of human dyslexics, and all exhibit an autoimmune condition similar to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in humans. The expression of immune disease in the BXSB strain, unlike in humans, is more severe in males than females. Most previous studies have examined the behavioral sequelae of neocortical ectopias at a relatively young age, when the BXSB females (unlike the male BXSB and female and male NZBs) are not yet showing high titers of autoantibodies associated with their lupus-like form of autoimmune disease. This study examined the behavior of BXSB females at an age subsequent to autoimmune disease onset. When contrasted with younger animals, year-old BXSB females showed good learning behavior, with no differences in Lashley maze learning and remarkably good performance in a visual discrimination learning task. These results are consistent with other data which indicate that many types of learning behavior are apparently unperturbed by systemic autoimmune disease. Results also showed significant interactions between a measure of lateral paw preference and the presence or absence of ectopias in Lashley maze learning. Animals without ectopias that exhibited a right lateral paw preference showed the greatest number of errors on a number of test measures. These findings support previous results indicating that behavioral effects associated with ectopias may vary based upon the behavioral laterality of affected animals.
Talents and disorders - relationships among handedness, sex, and college major
1995, Brain and CognitionOne-hundred and nine consistent left- and right-handers participated in an experiment investigating the role of Handedness, Sex, and College Major in predicting spatial talents, verbal problems, immune disorders, allergies, and myopia. Left-handers had poor verbal ability. Males in spatial majors (requiring extensive math) had high spatial ability and poor verbal ability. Left-handed males in spatial majors bad high spatial ability, poor verbal ability, an elevated incidence of asthma, and a marginally higher incidence of myopia. No trade-off between spatial and verbal ability was found. Results provide qualified support for Geschwind and Galaburdas (1987) hypothesis of the ′Pathology of Superiority."