title: Age-dependent degeneration of the stria vascularis in human cochleae.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aging is a common cause of acquired hearing impairments. This study investigated age-related morphologic changes in human cochleae, with a particular focus on degeneration of the stria vascularis (SV) and the spiral ganglion (SG).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case review.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group comprised 91 temporal bones from individuals aged 10 to 85 years who had no history or audiometric findings suggestive of specific causes of cochlear degeneration. We quantified the SV and SG atrophy at each cochlear turn using morphometric measurements. Correlations of the SV and SG atrophy with age, audiometric patterns of hearing loss, and auditory thresholds were statistically investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SV and the SG both showed a tendency for progressive atrophy to develop with age. However, statistically significant correlations were observed between aging and SV atrophy only in the apical and basal cochlear turns. These findings were consistent with those reported previously in gerbils. No significant correlations were detected between SV or SG atrophy and audiometric findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SV atrophy appears to be the most prominent anatomic characteristic of aged human cochleae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Fukushima Medical University, School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nomoto
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Naofumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuwahata
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Juichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omori
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D003051:Cochlea / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013136:Spiral Ganglion / Q000473:pathology; D013316:Stria Vascularis / Q000473:pathology*