Alterations in blink and masseter reflex latencies in older adults with neurocognitive disorder and/or diabetes mellitus.

Background: 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.

Aim: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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 ( < 0.0001). The masseter reflex was only prolonged in older adults (regardless of T2DM status) with ND controls ( = 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 ( < 0.01).

Conclusion: 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.