Ultrastructural study of the human pineal gland in aged patients including a centenarian

An ultrastructural study of human pineal glands obtained at autopsy from 7 patients older than 70 years was conducted in order to clarify the functional anatomy of the pineal in the aged. By light microscopy, the pineal glands from aged patients were parenchymatous and almost indistinguishable from those of younger controls. Electron microscopy of the pineal parenchymal cells revealed deep nuclear indentations, synaptic ribbons and ribbon fields, Golgi apparatus, lipofuscin granules and microtubular sheaves in all subjects, cilia with a 9 + 0 pattern in a few, and lamellated structures suggestive of the outer segment of photoreceptor cells very rarely. Microtubules were numerous in the cytoplasmic processes and bulbous endings. Fibrous astrocytes located between the pinealocytes showed long and thin cytoplasmic processes containing numerous glial filaments. Two types of nerve bouton were present in the pineal parenchyma, one of which contained clear vesicles forming synapse-like contacts with pinealocytes. There were no significant age-related changes in these features in a qualitative comparison with pineal glands from 5 adult patients younger than 70 years. These findings indicate that even in advanced age, the human pineal gland maintains some functions, such as intercellular communication and photoreception, in common with the pineal in lower vertebrates.