This debate continues today over what exactly causes this disease, some argue it is just the alcohol toxicity, others claim the vitamin deficiencies are to blame and still others say it is some combination of the two. Research directions
In 2001 research directions included the effect that an alcoholics consumption and choice of alcoholic beverage might have on their development of alcoholic polyneuropathy. Some beverages may include more nutrients than others (such as thiamine), but the effects of this with regards to helping with a nutritional deficiency in alcoholics is yet unknown.Research also continued on reasons for the development of alcoholic polyneuropathy. Some argue it is a direct result of alcohols toxic effect on the nerves, but others say factors such as a nutritional deficiency or chronic liver disease may play a role in the development as well. Multiple mechanisms may be present. References


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However, as the surveys Arab test persons were mainly recruited from a handful of large and closely related clans living in a particular village, said percentage should be considered with some reservation, according to Goodman et alia (1965). Cases of stub thumbs have also been found in Eastern Nepal for Jirel ethnic individuals from their participation in various epidemiologic studies. Some studies included taking radiographs of hands and wrists to examine their skeletal structure. Of the studied sample (which included 2,130 participants; 969 male and 1,161 female), 3.55% were found to have brachydactyly type D.

Terminology
The condition is known under numerous names. The most commonly used name is clubbed thumb, or club thumb. American researcher R.A. Hefner used the terms "short thumb" and "brachymegalodactylism" in 1924, and "short thumb" has continued to be used in a few other studies since then, including the study that defined Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome in 1963. "Stub thumb" is the common term preferred by the online database Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man and was first used in a 1965 study. Stub thumbs have also been called murderers thumb (allegedly among fortune tellers), bohemian thumb, toe thumb, and potters thumb.The term "clubbed thumb" should not be confused with nail clubbing, which is a clinical sign associated with a number of diseases. == References ==