OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the changes in myocyte size and number in the left and right ventricles that occur with aging in the female and male heart. BACKGROUND: Differences in life span between women and men may be related to a better preservation of myocardial structure in the female heart with aging. On this basis, the hypothesis was advanced that the aging process has a different impact on the integrity of the myocardium in the two genders. METHODS: Morphometric methodologies were applied to analyze the changes in number and size of ventricular myocytes in the hearts of 53 women and 53 men. The changes in mononucleated and binucleated myocytes with age were determined in enzymatically dissociated cells. The age interval examined varied from 17 to 95 years. RESULTS: Aging was associated with a preservation of ventricular myocardial mass, aggregate number of mononucleated and binucleated myocytes, average cell diameter and volume in the female heart. In contrast, nearly 1 g/year of myocardium was lost in the male heart, and this phenomenon accounted for the loss of approximately 64 million cells. This detrimental effect involved the left and right sides of the heart. In the remaining cells, myocyte cell volume increased at a rate of 158 microns3/year in the left and 167 microns3/year in the right ventricle. CONCLUSIONS: Aging does not lead to myocyte cell loss and myocyte cellular reactive hypertrophy in women, indicating that gender differences may play a significant role in the detrimental effects of the aging process on the heart.
OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the changes in myocyte size and number in the left and right ventricles that occur with aging in the female and male heart. BACKGROUND: Differences in life span between women and men may be related to a better preservation of myocardial structure in the female heart with aging. On this basis, the hypothesis was advanced that the aging process has a different impact on the integrity of the myocardium in the two genders. METHODS: Morphometric methodologies were applied to analyze the changes in number and size of ventricular myocytes in the hearts of 53 women and 53 men. The changes in mononucleated and binucleated myocytes with age were determined in enzymatically dissociated cells. The age interval examined varied from 17 to 95 years. RESULTS: Aging was associated with a preservation of ventricular myocardial mass, aggregate number of mononucleated and binucleated myocytes, average cell diameter and volume in the female heart. In contrast, nearly 1 g/year of myocardium was lost in the male heart, and this phenomenon accounted for the loss of approximately 64 million cells. This detrimental effect involved the left and right sides of the heart. In the remaining cells, myocyte cell volume increased at a rate of 158 microns3/year in the left and 167 microns3/year in the right ventricle. CONCLUSIONS: Aging does not lead to myocyte cell loss and myocyte cellular reactive hypertrophy in women, indicating that gender differences may play a significant role in the detrimental effects of the aging process on the heart.
Authors: G G L Biondi-Zoccai; A Abate; R Bussani; D Camilot; F D Giorgio; M-P D Marino; F Silvestri; F Baldi; L M Biasucci; A Baldi Journal: Heart Date: 2005-01 Impact factor: 5.994
Authors: Catherine Gebhard; Monika Maredziak; Michael Messerli; Ronny R Buechel; Fay Lin; Heidi Gransar; Stephan Achenbach; Mouaz H Al-Mallah; Daniele Andreini; Jeroen J Bax; Daniel S Berman; Matthew J Budoff; Filippo Cademartiri; Tracy Q Callister; Hyuk-Jae Chang; Kavitha Chinnaiyan; Benjamin J W Chow; Ricardo C Cury; Augustin DeLago; Gudrun Feuchtner; Martin Hadamitzky; Joerg Hausleiter; Yong-Jin Kim; Jonathon Leipsic; Erica Maffei; Hugo Marques; Pedro de Araújo Gonçalves; Gianluca Pontone; Gilbert L Raff; Ronen Rubinshtein; Leslee J Shaw; Todd C Villines; Yao Lu; Erica C Jones; Jessica M Peña; James K Min; Philipp A Kaufmann Journal: Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging Date: 2020-04-01 Impact factor: 6.875
Authors: Jacqueline Fannin; Kevin M Rice; Srininvas Thulluri; Lucy Dornon; Ravi Kumar Arvapalli; Paulette Wehner; Eric R Blough Journal: Age (Dordr) Date: 2014-07-27
Authors: Bernhard M Kaess; Philimon Gona; Martin G Larson; Susan Cheng; Jayashree Aragam; Satish Kenchaiah; Emelia J Benjamin; Ramachandran S Vasan Journal: Heart Date: 2013-09-16 Impact factor: 5.994
Authors: Jun Yan; Judith M Greer; Renee Hull; John D O'Sullivan; Robert D Henderson; Stephen J Read; Pamela A McCombe Journal: Immun Ageing Date: 2010-03-16 Impact factor: 6.400