Age- and gender-related elastin distribution changes in human vocal folds

The composition of the lamina propria in human vocal folds has been shown to affect vocal performance. Elastin plays a significant role in the biomechanical effects of the lamina propria. We obtained 19 larynges from the state medical examiner from subjects whose cause of death was unrelated to the trachea and laryngeal regions. The sample contained male and female subjects in the infant, adult, and geriatric age groups. We stained the vocal folds for elastin with Verhoeff's elastic tissue stain and studied them with use of an image analysis system configured for light microscopy. Distributions of elastin were measured from superficial to deep within the lamina propria (from epithelium to vocal muscle). These elastin distributions were then compared with the use of statistical software. The data showed that there was an increase in elastin content from the infant through geriatric stages. No gender-related differences were found. Infant folds had about 23% of the elastin found in adults, and geriatric subjects had about 879% of the elastin found in adults. Both of these results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The distributions were consistent with previous observations that the lamina propria is a layered structure with most of the elastin present in the intermediate layer. This layer was larger in geriatric subjects than in adult and pediatric subjects. We observed that the fiber diameter appeared to be larger in geriatric subjects (this observation is currently being verified with electron microscopy) whereas smaller, spiraled fibers appeared in pediatric subjects.