Calcium and phosphorus in aged human cerebral arteries.

To elucidate the compositional changes of the cerebral arteries with aging, the authors investigated age-related changes of the calcium and phosphorus contents in the cerebral arteries by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The subjects consisted of 11 men and 5 women, ranging in age from 52 to 96 yr. The anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries derived from the same subjects were used in the present study. It was found that there were no significant relationships between age and calcium or phosphorus content in the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries, indicating that the accumulation of calcium and phosphorus scarcely occurred in the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries with aging. It was examined whether there were relationships in the calcium and phosphorus contents among the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries, It was found that there was a significant relationship in both the contents of calcium and phosphorus between the middle and posterior cerebral arteries, but not between the anterior and middle cerebral arteries nor between the anterior and posterior cerebral arteries.

Selective accumulations of aluminum in five human arteries.

The aim of the present study was to determine variability of aluminum (Al) accumulation in human arteries and to observe the relationship between Al and five other elements (Ca, Fe, Mg, P, and Si) in the arteries. The Al contents in the thoracic aorta, basilar, coronary, femoral, and radial arteries of 26 human subjects were estimated by an inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer and compared quantitatively to five elements. Al was detected in 88% of the cases in both the femoral and radial arteries, 73% in the coronary artery, 58% in the aorta, and 31% in the basilar artery. The average Al content was highest in the femoral artery (48.3 +/- 15.0 microg/g dry weight) and lowest in the basilar artery (8.1 +/- 3.6 microg/g). The Al had positive correlations with P, Ca, or Mg in both the aorta and femoral artery, and with Ca or P in the basilar artery. In the coronary artery, a correlation was found between Al and Si. No relationships were found between Al and each of the five elements in the radial artery. From these results, Al varied widely among the five arteries and accumulated more in the femoral and radial arteries but less in the basilar artery. These accumulations of Al were positively correlated with Ca or P in several arteries, but not sufficiently to explain the accumulation of Al. Further investigations are required to understand the mechanism of the variability of Al accumulation in the arteries.

Age-dependent changes of elements in human trachea.

To elucidate compositional changes of human trachea by aging, element contents in tracheae were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The subjects consisted of seven men and seven women, ranging in age from 61 to 97 yr. The sulfur content of the tracheae decreased gradually with aging. In regard to calcium and phosphorus, both the contents increased to about threefold amounts in their seventies compared with those in their sixties, and decreased thereafter. The contents of calcium and phosphorus were the highest in their seventies. Therefore, it is likely that surplus calcium released from bones is deposited temporally in the trachea, and the deposits are released from the trachea at older age. Based on our results of human cartilages, there are two types in regard to calcium accumulation: The first type is that calcium accumulation occurs progressively with aging; the second one is that calcium accumulation becomes the highest in the seventies or eighties, and decreases thereafter. Therefore, the trachea belongs to the second type. Furthermore, the magnesium content remained constant through the age range.

Accumulation of calcium and phosphorus in the mitral valve in comparison with the abdominal aorta and the scaphoid bone.

To clarify why calcification of the mitral valve occurred, the authors chose the abdominal aorta and the scaphoid bone among many arteries and bones, and they studied both relationships in element contents between the mitral valve and the abdominal aorta and between the mitral valve and the scaphoid bone. The subjects consisted of 11 men and 8 women, ranging in age from 52 to 96 yr. The accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurred progressively with aging in the mitral valve, whereas it became the highest in the sixties in the abdominal aorta and did not increase thereafter. The accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurred in the abdominal aorta earlier than the thoracic aorta, in which it became remarkable in the seventies. It should be noted that in regard to the accumulation of calcium and phosphorus, no significant correlations were found between the mitral valve and the abdominal aorta. It is suggested that calcification of the abdominal aorta is not essentially accompanied by calcification of the mitral valve. The scaphoid bone was chosen among many bones consisting mainly of spongy bone and the relationship was examined between the calcium content in the mitral valve and the bone mineral density of the scaphoid bone. It was found that there was a low relationship between them. Therefore, it is suggested that a part of the surplus calcium released from bones is deposited in the mitral valve.

Age-related changes of element contents in human mitral and tricuspid valves.

To examine age-related changes of human cardiac valves, mitral and tricuspid valves were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The subjects for mitral valves consisted of 12 men and 8 women, ranging in age from 52 to 96 yr. The subjects for tricuspid valves consisted of 11 men and 6 women, ranging in age from 52 to 93 yr. Furthermore, 16 of the samples of the cardiac valves were derived from the same subjects. The contents of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in the mitral valves increased progressively with advancing age and reached maximum in the 80s in regard to calcium and phosphorus and maximum in the 90s in regard to magnesium. The maximum average amounts corresponded to about three times the average contents in the 60s. In contrast, the content of sulfur in the mitral valves remained constant between the 50s and 90s. Regarding tricuspid valve, the contents of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium scarcely increased with advancing age, except for one subject who died of chronic renal failure. Histological observations of the mitral valves revealed that deposits of calcium were present in both the elastic fibers and its degenerative tissues of the mitral valve. The present study indicates that the accumulation of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium occurs progressively in the mitral valve with aging, but does not occur in the tricuspid valve.

High accumulation of calcium and phosphorus in human iliac arteries.

To elucidate accumulation of minerals in human iliac arteries with aging, the content of minerals was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Bilateral common, internal, and external iliac arteries of 16 men and 8 women, ranging ages from 65 to 93 yr, were examined. It was found that an extremely high accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurred in the common iliac artery at old age, being higher than that of the internal and external iliac arteries. It should be noted that the accumulation of calcium and phosphorus is the highest in the common iliac artery among the human arteries examined to date. Regarding sexual differences, the content of calcium and phosphorus in the common and internal iliac arteries was higher in women than in men, whereas their content in the external iliac artery was lower in women than in men.

A possible balance of phosphorus accumulations among bone, cartilage, artery, and vein in single human individuals.

To elucidate relationships between the decrease of mineral contents in human bones and the accumulation of minerals in the other human tissues, the contents of phosphorus in human bones, arteries, veins, and cartilages in 27 subjects (17 men and 10 women) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. These were resected from subjects who died in the age range 40-98 yr. Calcanei were chosen for analysis of mineral contents in contrast to arteries such as the femoral, popliteal, and common carotid arteries, veins such as superior and inferior venae cavae, internal jugular, and femoral veins, and pubic symphyses. It was found that the content of phosphorus in calcanei was in agreement with that in both the pubic symphysis and the arteries such as femoral, popliteal, and common carotid arteries, but it was not in agreement with that in the veins such as superior and inferior venae cavae, internal jugular, and femoral veins. This suggests that phosphorus released from bones is accompanied by accumulations of phosphorus in the artery and cartilage.

Age-related changes of elements in the human articular disk of the temporomandibular joint.

To elucidate compositional changes of the articular disk (AD) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by aging, elements of the ADs resected from 18 cadavers were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry. It was found that calcium contents of ADs in TMJs increased progressively with aging, whereas the sulfur contents of the ADs decreased slightly with aging. Regarding the content of phosphorus, the contents increased progressively with aging. The study revealed that age-related changes of calcium contents in the ADs of TMJs were similar to those in women's pubic symphyses, but not those in intervertebral disks and menisci.

Age-independent constancy of mineral contents in human ribs.

On age relationships of mineral contents in human bones, the contents of the sixth rib and a piece of its compact bone were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICPS). The ribs were resected from 21 subjects (14 men and 7 women) who died in age ranging from 65 to 93 yr. There were no age-dependent decreases in Ca and P contents of the ribs in the age range on ICPS. It was found that there were no age-dependent decreases in Ca and P in compact bones of ribs.

High accumulation of minerals in the human arteries of lower limb.

To elucidate accumulation of minerals in the human arteries, the relative contents (RCs) of minerals in the arteries of the upper and lower limbs were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. It was found that the RCs of calcium and phosphorus in the femoral and popliteal arteries of the lower limb increased with aging, whereas those in the axillary and radial arteries of the upper limb did not increase with aging. This result indicates that higher accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurs in the arteries of the lower limb with aging as compared with that in the arteries of the upper limb, and the prevalence of arteriosclerosis increases in the arteries of the lower limb with aging but not in the arteries of the upper limb.

Age-related changes of element contents in the human meniscus.

The relative contents (RCs) of elements in the human menisci from 23 subjects in the age range between 65 and 93 yr were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The RCs of sulfur, calcium, and phosphorus in menisci increased progressively until the 80s, being the highest in the 80s, and thereafter decreased. The RCs of magnesium in menisci increased progressively until the 90s. Regarding the medial and lateral menisci, higher RCs of magnesium and iron, and a lower RC of phosphorus were found in lateral menisci in comparison with those in medial menisci. There were sexual differences in the RCs of calcium and phosphorus of medial and lateral menisci. The RCs of calcium and phosphorus were about 50% higher in women's menisci than in men's. Histological examinations showed that structureless mucoid masses were observed in the menisci, with very high RCs of calcium and phosphorus being detected.

Age-related changes of mineral contents in the human aorta and internal thoracic artery.

To elucidate accumulations of minerals in the human aorta and internal thoracic artery, their relative contents (RCs) of minerals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Aortas from 47 men and 24 women subjects were examined. The ages of these subjects ranged from newborn to 99 yr. After the age of 40 yr, RCs of calcium and phosphorus began to increase, and thereafter increased stepwise in the 50s and 70s. In the 70s, their accumulations were markedly increased. Internal thoracic arteries from 16 men and 7 women subjects were examined. These subjects ranged in age from 65-93 yr. It was found that all the RCs of calcium were low, <5.0 mg/g dry wt, and there was no age-dependent increase of calcium contents in internal thoracic arteries.

Differential accumulation of calcium and phosphorus in aged human arteries.

To elucidate age-related changes of human arteries, relative contents (RCs) of minerals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry on the thoracic aorta, basilar, coronary, femoral, and radial arteries from 27 subjects within the age range between 0 and 92 years old (Ys). Calcium and phosphorus never accumulated uniformly in any of the arteries such as the thoracic aorta, basilar, coronary, femoral, and radial arteries. The accumulations of calcium and phosphorus occurred earlier in the order of the femoral artery, thoracic aorta, coronary artery, and basilar or radial artery.

High accumulation of elements in the human femoral artery.

The relative contents (RCs) of elements in the femoral arteries as well as the thoracic aorta, coronary, basilar, and radial arteries from 26 subjects within the age range between 55 and 92 yr old, were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The RCs of calcium and phosphorus in the femoral arteries started to increase before the age of 60 yr. The RCs of magnesium increased after the age of 70 yr. However, the RCs of sulfur did not change significantly within the age range between 55 and 92 yr. With regard to localization of the mineral accumulations in the femoral arterial wall, it was found that the accumulations of calcium and phosphorus occurred only in the tunica media, only in the tunica intima, or in both the tunica media and the tunica intima. The manner of accumulation of calcium and phosphorus in the femoral arterial wall was different from that in the aortic wall. The average RCs of calcium in the 26 specimens were the highest in the femoral artery, followed in descending order by the thoracic aorta, coronary, basilar, and radial arteries. The average RCs of phosphorus were highest in the thoracic aorta, followed by the coronary, femoral, basilar, and radial arteries. It is noted that the accumulation of mineral elements never occurred uniformly in all the arteries.

Age-independent constancy of mineral contents in human vertebra and auditory ossicle.

To elucidate age-related changes of mineral contents in human bones, element contents of human vertebrae and auditory ossicles were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry. The cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae were removed from 12 vertebral columns. The mallei of auditory ossicle were removed from 27 cadavers. It was found that average relative contents (RCs) of calcium and phosphorus in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae remained almost constant within ages ranging from 46 to 99 y. In addition, it was found that the RCs of calcium and phosphorus in men's and women's mallei remained constant within ages ranging from 40 to 98 yr. These results support the view that there is no significant age-dependent change of mineral contents in human bones.

High accumulations of calcium and phosphorus in women's pubic symphysis.

To elucidate compositional changes of the pubic symphysis (PS) by aging, elements of pubic symphysis (PSs) removed from 26 cadavers were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry. It was found that the relative contents (RCs) of calcium and phosphorus in women's PSs were about three- and five-fold amounts as compared with those in men's PSs, respectively. In contrast, the RCs of sulfur, magnesium, sodium, and iron in women's PSs were somewhat lower than those in men's PSs. The accumulations of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in women's PSs occurred mainly beyond the age of 70-yr-old, but did not occur in men's PSs.

A constancy of mineral contents in human auditory ossicles.

To determine element contents of auditory ossicles, the malleus and incus were removed from 27 subjects which died at the ages between 40 and 98 years old, and their elemental contents were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. It was found that the relative contents (RCs) of calcium and phosphorus were very high in the malleus and incus. The RCs of calcium and phosphorus in the ossicles corresponded to one-and-a-half-fold amounts as compared with the spongy bone of human cervical vertebrae. The mass ratio of calcium per phosphorus in the ossicles was almost the same as that of crystalline calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite. Relationships between the aging and RCs of minerals and between both the sexes in the ossicle were examined. It was found that both the RCs of calcium and phosphorus in the malleus and incus were really constant at the age over 40 years old, and that there was no significant difference of the mineral contents between men and women.

Age-related change of mineral content in the human thoracic aorta and in the human cerebral artery.

The relative contents (RCs) of mineral elements in aortae and cerebral arteries from 23 subjects, with ages ranging between 45 and 99 yr, were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The RCs of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in the aortae increased markedly after the age of 70. While the RC of sulfur in aortae decreased gradually after that age. It was found that accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurred primarily in the tunica media of aorta, and secondarily in the tunica intima. Furthermore, the RCs of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in cerebral arteries increased markedly after the age of 70, whereas the RC of sulfur in cerebral arteries decreased after age 70. It was found that accumulation of calcium and phosphorus in the cerebral arteries were 30 and 60%, respectively, lower than those in the aortae with ages ranging between 45 and 99 yr.