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Biomedical subjects

W P London

Publications and source records attributed to W P London.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Hypopigmentation, anomalous cerebral dominance and seasonality.

This paper proposes a prenatal seasonal hypopigmentation influence associated with anomalous cerebral dominance that occurs during the winter or early spring. A possible mechanism would be seasonal changes in sex hormone levels that affect the activation and inactivation of DNA by reversible methylation. The proposed prenatal seasonal hypopigmentation effect might be relevant to dyslexia, Prader-Willi syndrome, breast cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Putative chromosomal loci associated with the proposed seasonal mechanism would be 15q11-13 (dyslexia and Prader-Willi syndrome), 21q region (breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease) and 19p region (pigmentation gene).

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1991

Breast cancer and cerebral laterality.

In reviewing and summarizing work at our institution, we have identified some surprising consistencies in patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer shows four features of cerebral laterality: excess left-handedness, atypical season-of-birth patterns, the risk factor of advanced maternal age, and an association with prenatal sex hormones. Since hypopigmentation also relates to cerebral laterality, a consequence of the association of breast cancer and cerebral laterality is that eye color should be measured as a function of side of disease and age at diagnosis in women with breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1989

Left-handedness and life expectancy.

Halpern and Coren recently described an association between left-handedness and a lower life expectancy. This finding is not unexpected because left-handedness has been linked to three leading causes of death in our society--alcoholism, smoking, and breast cancer--as well as to several neurological and immune disorders.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1985

Handedness and alcoholism.

One hundred thirty-six alcoholic men and 48 alcoholic women admitted consecutively to an adult alcohol and substance abuse unit were studied in an attempt to replicate previous reports of an association between alcoholism and handedness. Each individual received a structured admission interview, and handedness was determined by a modification of the Edinburgh Inventory. Left-handedness was more frequent in men with alcoholic fathers and in first-born men. These data are discussed in the context of a recent theory relating left-handedness, immune disease, developmental learning disorders, and fetal testosterone.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Seasonality of bipolar disorders in a forensic setting.

The authors studied 180 men who were found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGBRI) and committed to a forensic hospital for treatment. The 57 men diagnosed as bipolar disorder committed the crime for which they were found NGBRI (and which was, therefore, the result of mental illness) significantly more frequently during the 6 months August through January. The crimes committed by those in the bipolar group who were 31 years or older showed even seasonality. The crimes committed by the 123 men found NGBRI but not diagnosed as bipolar showed no seasonality. During the past 5 years on the forensic unit, the seclusion time, which was due primarily to manic behavior, was significantly higher during the 4 months December through March. These observations establish a seasonality of mania that appears age-related.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Behavioral rhythms in schizophrenia.

Daily behavioral observations were made for several years on 10 male schizophrenic patients and on three male patients with organic brain disorders. Analysis of these data showed strong cyclic components in the five schizophrenic patients with predominantly hebephrenic symptomatology. Period lengths noted were about 2 days, 5 to 6 days, 30 days, and a longer cycle of 40 to 100 days duration. Antipsychotic medications appear to have a suppressant effect, but tricyclic antidepressants may enhance pre-existing rhythms.

Adult↗