Neurological examination in subjects over 65 years: an epidemiological survey.

The frequency of abnormal findings at neurological examination was analyzed in an unselected sample of elderly people aged 67-87 years. Absent deep tendon reflexes and impairment of proprioceptive sensation rarely occurred in the elderly. Limitation of upward gaze and convergence appear a common finding, especially in the very old. Overall, the presence of cortical disinhibition signs (primitive reflexes and paratonia) did not discriminate well between subjects without CNS disease and demented patients. Only the presence of a prominent and persistent response to the stimulus and the number of cortical disinhibition signs found in the same subject appear useful criteria to distinguish between normality and dementia.