# AGING HUMAN LARYNGEAL PROTECTIVE MECHANISM

> **NIH NIH R01** · UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $144,066

## Abstract

The elderly suffer from age-related swallowing and voice disorders.  This
project will provide the first statistically unbiased quantitative data
concerning the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying age-related laryngeal
dysfunction and will thereby contribute to a logical basis for improved
methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.  Human
tissues will be obtained from autopsy and laryngectomy cases and will
include selected sensory and motor systems that are crucial to the
laryngeal protective reflex and the voice.

Specific data concerning the pathogenesis of these dysfunctions in man is
essential since the role of the larynx is not sufficiently analogous in any
animal model.  In addition, conventional biochemical techniques are not
applicable since the relevant parameters vary greatly within a mosaic of
functionally distinct, highly specialized cell types and even within
subcellular compartments.  These difficult technical problems will be
addressed by using ultrastructural, histochemical and immunocytochemical
techniques in conjunction with stereological techniques (3-dimensional
quantitative morphological data based on geometrical probability).  These
methods provide the only means to obtain statistically unbiased,
quantitative, correlative data on age-related cellular loss and metabolic
disruptions in cellular and subcellular compartments in sufficiently large
samples of specific cell types in human laryngeal tissues.

The role of the following parameters in the pathogenetic mechanisms
underlying age-related laryngeal dysfunction will be assessed:  1.  The
extent and cell type specificity of nerve fiber, muscle fiber and sensory
receptor loss and cellular atrophy in the recurrent and superior laryngeal
nerves, thyroarytenoid muscle and epiglottis, respectively.  2.  The
capacity for support of cellular energy pools via oxidative metabolism in
specific cell types in the thyroarytenoid muscle, superior and recurrent
laryngeal nerves and sensory receptors in the epiglottis.  3.  The role of
changes in the cellular determinant of the contraction speed in the
thyroarytenoid muscle.  4.  The role of changes in the cellular determinant
of the axon diameter and of the conduction velocity in the superior and
recurrent laryngeal nerves.  In addition, these data will provide age-
matched normative baselines for future studies of other pathological
conditions and will contribute to the understanding of the basic metabolic,
structural and topographical specializations that determine human laryngeal
function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120941
- **Project number:** 5R01AG009186-03
- **Recipient organization:** UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** HYN3WD58HNN7
- **Principal Investigator:** LESLIE T MALMGREN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $144,066
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1991-08-01 → 1996-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120941

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120941, AGING HUMAN LARYNGEAL PROTECTIVE MECHANISM (5R01AG009186-03). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120941. Licensed CC0.

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