Age-related changes in the neuromuscular junctions in the human posterior cricoarytenoid muscles: a quantitative study.

The posterior cricoarytenoid muscle is unique histochemically, ultrastructurally, and functionally. It has been suggested that the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle undergoes early aging. Aging in peripheral nerves has been reported to resemble a "dying back" neuropathy in that the most severe and earliest age-related changes occur at the most distal levels of the nerve fibers. The lengths and terminal axonal branching of neuromuscular junctions in 17 human posterior cricoarytenoid muscles aged 4 days to 95 years were determined. Both neuromuscular junction lengths and the numbers of axonal terminal branches in the very young group differed significantly from values in two older groups. In contrast to results reported for some other muscles, there was no significant age-related change in these parameters in the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle during adult life. This difference may be related to the repetitive contraction of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle.