Lipid pigment (lipofuscin) in human perioral muscles with aging

In a study of 80 perioral muscle specimens, lipid pigment (Lipofuscin) granules were present in 68.5% of the cases. The pigmented granules, which were stored at the nuclear poles, were PAS positive, stained black or brown with the Masson-Fontana procedure, black with Sudan black and strong purple-pink with Ziehl-Neelsen staining; yellow autofluorescence was emitted in ultraviolet light. The morphology, histochemical reactions and autofluorescence of the pigmented granules were characteristics of the endogenous lipid pigment--lipofuscin. Statistical analyses indicated a direct correlation between increase in quantity and distribution of the pigment and increase in age (p less than 0.0001), in both males and females. Accumulation of the pigment in the perioral muscles with aging was found to be similar to that in the myocardium and tongue muscles.