Aging voice and the laryngeal muscle atrophy

• Published in: The Laryngoscope 2015-11, Vol.125 (11), p.2518-2521
• Main Authors: Martins, Regina Helena Garcia, Benito Pessin, Adriana Bueno, Nassib, Douglas Jorge, Branco, Anete, Rodrigues, Sergio Augusto, Matheus, Selma Maria Michelim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Atrophy; Female; Humans; Laryngeal Muscles - pathology; Larynx; Male; morphometry; Mucous Membrane - pathology; presbyphonia; Vocal Cords - pathology; vocal muscle; voice; Voice - physiology
• ISSN: 0023-852X; 1531-4995
• DOI: 10.1002/lary.25398

Objectives/Hypothesis To study by means of morphometric measurements the severity of vocal muscle atrophy in the elderly. Study Design Cadaver study. Setting Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu Medical School, Brazil. Subjects and Methods Thirty vocal folds were collected from necropsies distributed into three groups: aged 60 to 75 years (n = 10); aged 76 to 90 years (n = 10); and a control group aged 30 to 50 years (n = 10). Specimens for histology were obtained from the middle portion of the vocal folds. The stained specimens were analyzed using Axion Vision software (coupled to a Zeiss [Oberkochen, Germany] microscope) and used in the morphometric analyses conducted with the ImageJ software. The diameters of 200 muscle fibers from each slide were measured, and the mean values were statistically analyzed. Results The mean values of the diameters of the vocal muscle fibers of the elderly age groups were smaller than in the control: control (30–50 years: 16.389 μm); elderly (60–75 years: 14.412 μm; 76–90 years: 14.162 μm) (P