title: Release signs in Parkinson's disease with and without dementia.
abstract: Release signs have been described in both age-associated diseases and in the healthy elderly. We investigated the palmomental, snout, grasp, corneomandibular and glabellar reflexes in demented and non-demented Parkinson-patients compared to Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls. The palmomental reflex and a persisting glabellar reflex were linked to parkinsonism irrespective of dementia and were found also in Alzheimer's disease. A corneomandibular reflex was observed more frequently in demented than non-demented Parkinson-patients and in Alzheimer's disease. The snout-reflex was present in nearly all individuals irrespective of diagnosis. Thus, various release signs react quite differentially to degenerative brain disease and dementia.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Boltzmann-Institute for Aging Research, Neurological Department, Geriatric Hospital Lainz, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marterer-Travniczek
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Danielczyk
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simanyi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal