Incidence of neurological soft signs in children with isolated cleft of the lip or palate

The purpose of this study was to assess neurological soft signs in children and adolescents with isolated cleft of the lip or palate (iCL/P) compared with healthy controls. Children with iCL/P were recruited through the university cleft clinic. Control subjects were recruited through advertisements. Of the 166 subjects who participated (age range 7 to 17 years, M = 12.5, SD = 3.2), 77 had iCL/P (48 male) and 89 were healthy controls (44 male). All participants took the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs and selected tests of motor coordination. A multivariate analysis of variance assessed differences between subjects with and without iCL/P. Also, a Pearson correlation estimated the relationship between the neurological soft signs and age. Subjects with iCL/P scored significantly higher on all neurological soft signs variables. These higher scores were associated with younger age. Findings lend support to the hypothesis of aberrant brain development in children with iCL/P.