Abdelkafy Wael M, Smith Johnathon Q, Henriquez Oswaldo A, Golub Justin S, Xu Jianguo, Rojas Mauricio, Brigham Kenneth L, Johns Michael M
Emory Voice Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, USA.
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2007 Aug;116(8):618-22. doi: 10.1177/000348940711600810.
Changes in voice are commonly associated with aging (presbyphonia). Age-related voice change significantly impairs elderly individuals' ability to communicate meaningfully with others and affects their quality of life. With changing age demographics in our society and increasing emphasis on quality of life, treatment of presbylaryngis is becoming more paramount.
We used 9 aged and 9 young mice to validate a mouse model for the aging larynx. We stained the larynges with Alcian blue to determine the hyaluronic acid content, trichrome stain to determine the collagen content, and immunohistochemical stain for alpha smooth muscle actin to determine the myofibroblast content. Morphometric measurements were performed for muscle area, muscle thickness, and muscle fiber diameter.
Statistically significant differences in the density measurements of hyaluronic acid and collagen reflected decreased hyaluronic acid and increased collagen content in the aging larynx. We found alpha smooth muscle actin-labeled myofibroblasts only in the aged larynges. No statistically significant differences were found in the morphometric measurements.
Aged mice may make a practical model for the age-related changes in the vocal folds that can be used further in studies aiming to correct these changes.
嗓音变化通常与衰老相关（老年嗓音障碍）。与年龄相关的嗓音变化会显著损害老年人与他人进行有效沟通的能力，并影响他们的生活质量。随着社会人口年龄结构的变化以及对生活质量的日益重视，老年喉病的治疗变得越发重要。
我们使用9只老年小鼠和9只年轻小鼠来验证衰老喉部的小鼠模型。我们用阿尔辛蓝对喉部进行染色以确定透明质酸含量，用三色染色法确定胶原蛋白含量，并用α平滑肌肌动蛋白免疫组化染色来确定肌成纤维细胞含量。对肌肉面积、肌肉厚度和肌纤维直径进行形态测量。
透明质酸和胶原蛋白密度测量的统计学显著差异反映出衰老喉部的透明质酸含量减少和胶原蛋白含量增加。我们仅在老年喉部发现了α平滑肌肌动蛋白标记的肌成纤维细胞。形态测量未发现统计学显著差异。
老年小鼠可能成为声带与年龄相关变化的实用模型，可在旨在纠正这些变化的研究中进一步使用。
