title: Age-associated changes in viscoelastic properties of the bovine temporomandibular joint disc.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that compressive properties of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc change with age, we investigated its viscoelastic properties and stress-relaxation behavior under compression. Compressive stress-relaxation tests were performed in different regions of bovine discs of various ages. For each disc, specimens were derived from three different regions (anterior, central, and posterior). For four strain levels (5, 10, 15, and 20%), a stress-relaxation test was conducted over a 5-min period. Values of the instantaneous modulus, E(0), appeared to be larger in the anterior than in the posterior region of the disc, irrespective of age. The E(0) value increased with age, especially in the central region. Values of the relaxed modulus, E(R), also increased significantly with age. There were no regional differences in values of the relaxed modulus. Under stress-relaxation, the relaxation time became longer with age, especially in the posterior region. The results suggest that the compressive properties, instantaneous and relaxed moduli, increase with age, while the relaxation time becomes longer. This implies that the TMJ disc becomes harder with age. Furthermore, the compressive properties of the TMJ disc are region-specific. As a result of the harder disc, it is likely that the TMJ becomes more vulnerable to secondary damage, such as fracture and tissue degradation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan. etanaka@hirsohima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Eizo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamano
authors.forename: Diego A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dalla-Bona
authors.forename: Reiji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van Eijden
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanne
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D019245:Compressive Strength; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D006244:Hardness; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000502:physiology*; D014783:Viscosity