ArticleDementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra2011
Can the 'head-turning sign' be a clinical marker of Alzheimer's disease?
Article in Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Identifying patterns of communication in patients attending memory clinics: a systematic review of observations and signs with potential diagnostic utility.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Pooled it
- The head turning sign "outside the clinic walls" in patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- The three clap test: a window into cognitive and frontal lobe dysfunction.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Review
- Can the clinical sign "head-turning sign" and simple questions in "Neucop-Q" predict amyloid β pathology?Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- "Don't know" sign: description and evaluation of its diagnostic accuracy for cognitive impairment.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Article
- "International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2020Article
- Article
- Triple Test Plus Rapid Cognitive Screening Test: A Combination of Clinical Signs and A Tool for Cognitive Assessment in Older Adults.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Are saving appearance responses typical communication patterns in Alzheimer's disease?PloS one · 2018Article
- Deconstructing Chronic Low Back Pain in the Older Adult-Step by Step Evidence and Expert-Based Recommendations for Evaluation and Treatment: Part XI: Dementia.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2016Article
- Scales to Assess Clinical Features of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: MDS Task Force Report.Movement disorders clinical practice · 2015Review
- Distinct brain volume changes associated with the head-turning sign and Neucop-Q response patterns in Alzheimer's disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reportsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsTo investigate the incidence and severity of the 'head-turning sign' (HTS), i.e. turning the head back to the caregiver(s) for help, in patients with various dementias and discuss its clinical specificity in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
methodsWE INVESTIGATED THE INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY OF HTS WHILE ADMINISTERING A SHORT COGNITIVE TEST (THE REVISED HASEGAWA DEMENTIA RATING SCALE: HDSR) in outpatients with AD [125 patients, including 4 with AD + vascular dementia (VaD)], 8 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 34 with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 8 with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and 6 with VaD.
resultsSignificant differences were found among the 5 disease groups in the incidence and severity of HTS, and HDSR scores. Given the significant differences between AD and DLB in post hoc analyses, patients were dichotomized into AD-related (AD and aMCI) and AD-nonrelated (PSP, DLB and VaD) groups. Both incidence (41 vs. 17%, p = 0.002) and severity of HTS (0.80 ± 1.13 vs. 0.21 ± 0.60, p = 0.001) were significantly higher in the AD-related group, while average age and HDSR scores were comparable between both groups. AD-related disease, female gender and low HDSR score contributed significantly to the occurrence and severity of HTS.
conclusionsHTS can be a clinical marker of AD and aMCI, and may represent a type of excuse behavior as well as a sign of dependency on and trust in the caregivers.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.