Effect of diabetes on some primitive reflexes.
Primitive reflexes (PRs) are present in newborns; they disappear as the brain matures and increase in frequency in healthy elderly individuals. Primitive reflexes are more frequent in some neurological disorders than in age-matched controls. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diabetes on some PRs. We examined three PRs (glabellar tap, snout and palmomental reflexes) in 376 subjects: 111 normal age-matched controls, 60 patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and 205 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The latter patients were divided into three groups: (1) diabetics without neurological complications (D); (2) diabetics with cerebrovascular disease (D-CVD); and (3) diabetics with polyneuropathy (D-PN). The frequency of PRs was increased in CVD, unchanged in D-CVD (except palmomental) and greatly reduced in D and D-PN. It is possible that the vascular lesions in perforating arteries of the pons in diabetic subjects, previously studied in some pathological reports, can account for the reduced occurrence of primitive reflex responses.
Volpe
G
G
Department of Neurological Sciences, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Della Rocca
G
G
Brescia Morra
V
V
Belfiore
G
G
Coppola
G
G
Campanella
G
G
Orefice
G
G
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal / Q000502:physiology*