[Mirror-writing in the aged].
Mirror-writing is script that runs in the direction opposite to normal, with the individual letters also reversed. Although mirror-writing is well recognized as occurring in the presence of central nervous system damage, and is especially seen in association with hemiplegia, its mechanism has not yet been elucidated. The purpose of the present study is to document a high incidence of mirror-writing among patients aged 65 years or more, and to investigate the relationship of mirror-writing with brain damage and the degree of cognitive dysfunction. The subjects analyzed in this study were 112 patients (44 males and 68 females) and their average age was 73.8 years. Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS) was used to evaluate their cognitive function. We could find no cases of mirror-writing with the right hand. A high incidence of mirror-writing was found in patients who could use their left hand. Mirror-writing was seen in 67% of patients with cerebral lesions on CT scan. However, we could not observe any relationship between the incidence of mirror-writing and damage to a given circumscribed area of the brain. More than 90% of demented patients, whose HDS scores were less than 20, showed mirror-writing with their left hand. The mean score on the HDS for those with a high incidence of mirror-writing was significantly lower than the score for those without mirror-writing. These results indicate that a high incidence of mirror-writing among aged patients is related to cerebral damage and cognitive dysfunction.
Kuzuya
M
M
Department of Geriatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine.
Yamamoto
T
T
Kuzuya
F
F
D000368:Aged; D001037:Aphasia / Q000523:psychology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications