Significance of cortical disinhibition signs

Abstract

Several clinical signs traditionally associated with dementia were examined in a series of 103 patients referred to a dementia clinic. The snout and grasp reflexes were significantly correlated with impaired performance on cognitive tests, but not accentuated jaw-jerk, glabellar reflex, paratonia, suck, root, or palmomental reflexes. In general, the signs were more strongly correlated with CT evidence of ventricular dilation than with cortical atrophy. They seem to be related to supranuclear motor system dysfunction, and cannot be considered clinical markers of dementia.