title: Quantifying soft tissue loss in the aging male face using magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quantitative data on soft tissue aging of the face are scarce, particularly in men.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify and compare facial soft tissue loss in men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two thousand thirty-seven MRIs were screened and 30 male subjects were divided into young, middle, and old-aged groups. A blinded radiologist measured temporal, infraorbital, and medial and lateral cheek areas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean thickness of the subcutaneous tissue in the temporal area was 12.5, 10.9, and 9.6 mm in the young, middle, and older age groups, respectively (p < .001). A 40% reduction in the skin thickness was seen in the infraorbital areas. Finally, a decrease of 1.5 and 2.7 mm in medial cheeks (p < .001), and 0.9 and 1.6 mm (p = .03) in lateral cheeks were measured in middle and old age groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A steady and significant decline in the soft tissue thickness was noted at all measured sites in men over time. These findings are in contrast to our recently study in women showing dramatic loss of soft tissue between the ages of 30 and 60 with no significant differences between the middle and old-aged groups. These results have implications for volume correction and maintenance of a youthful appearance in the aging male face.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Redwood City, California; †Department of Dermatology, Mohs/Dermatologic Surgery Division, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California; ‡Department of Radiology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; §Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; ‖Berman Gladstone Skin Institute, Palo Alto, California.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wysong
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.forename: Deborah F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: MacFarlane
authors.forename: Jean Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Hayes B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Gladstone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000473:pathology; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult