[The effects of aging on the volume of human vestibular nuclei]

Elderly persons often have balance disorders, with dizziness that sometimes leads to falls. Changes in the peripheral vestibular system with age, with loss of the hair cells and neurons of Scarpa's nucleus, have been studied for years. However, the changes in the vestibular nuclear complex with age have not been examined. We studied paraffin-embedded brainstems from nine persons of different ages in order to analyze possible changes with age. No abnormalities were observed in the volume or length of the vestibular nuclei, except for a decrease in both dimensions in the superior vestibular nucleus (SNV). All the main vestibular nuclei showed an increase in lipofuscin content with age that seemed to be less marked in the SNV. The low lipofuscin concentration in the SNV could be related with the conservation of vestibular reflexes, the center of which seems to be the SVN, in elderly persons.