Published online Jan 7, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i1.177
Peer-review started: March 12, 2021
First decision: July 28, 2021
Revised: July 30, 2021
Accepted: November 25, 2021
Article in press: November 25, 2021
Published online: January 7, 2022
Processing time: 293 Days and 7.2 Hours
Blink and masseter reflexes provide reliable, quantifiable data on the function of the central nervous system: Delayed latencies have been found in patients with neurocognitive disorder (ND) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but this has not been studied in patients with both pathologies.
To investigate if older adults with ND plus T2DM have prolonged latencies of blink and masseter-reflex and if they were associated with disease progression.
This cross-sectional study included 227 older adults (> 60 years) from Colima, Mexico. Neurocognitive disorder was identified by a neuropsychological battery test, and T2DM identified by medical history, fasting glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin. Latencies in the early reflex (R1), ipsilateral late (R2), and contralateral late (R2c) components of the blink reflex were analyzed for all subjects, and 183 subjects were analyzed for latency of the masseter reflex.
In 20.7% of participants, ND was detected. In 37%, T2DM was detected. Latencies in R1, R2, and R2c were significantly prolonged for groups with ND plus T2DM, ND, and T2DM, compared with the control group (P < 0.0001). The masseter reflex was only prolonged in older adults (regardless of T2DM status) with ND vs controls (P = 0.030). In older adults with ND and without T2DM, the more the cognitive impairment progressed, the more prolonged latencies in R2 and R2c presented (P < 0.01).
These findings suggest that blink and masseter reflexes could be used to evaluate possible changes in brainstem circuits in older adults with ND and T2DM.
Core Tip: Delayed latencies were found in patients with neurocognitive disorder (ND) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but they have not been reported before for patients with both pathologies. We report, through blink and masseter reflex techniques, reliable and quantifiable data of the central nervous system function at the level of brainstem. The clinical implication is that brainstem reflexes could be linked with ND progression in the presence of T2DM in older adults. Older adults with ND and T2DM had longer latencies of the blink reflex components compared with healthy controls. In older adults with ND vs controls, the masseter reflex latency was prolonged. Age, sex, education, and dependence altered blink reflex latency in ND patients, while T2DM control, depression, and renal damage did not alter blink reflex latency.
