Age dynamics of the morphological structure of the cavernous arteries in healthy men according to complex morphometric analysis
Authors: Strelkov A. N. , Astrakhantsev A. F. , Snegur S. V. 
Published: March 2023

Background. Erectile dysfunction is associated with systemic vascular diseases and, to a greater extent, with age, while there is insufficient data in the literature on the morphological state of the cavernous arteries (CA) in men of different ages in normal.

Aim. A detailed morphometric assessment of the CA of men of various ages in the absence of signs of atherosclerosis and hypertension.

Materials and methods. The material was transverse fragments of cavernous bodies with paired CA obtained during autopsy (58 observations, a total of 116 CA were examined). Hematoxylin and eosin, fuchsylin and picrofuxin, and Mallory staining were used. Detailed morphometric analysis was carried out according to the original method by measuring the perimeter and then calculating the area of the corresponding component of the vascular wall.

Results. In the studied age range from 17 to 74 years, there was an increase in the total area of the CA from 0.76 mm2 in the age period of 17–21 years to 0.99 mm2 in the period of 36–60 years and a decrease to 0.43 mm2 at the age of 61–74 years. А similar increase in absolute indicators of the area of the lumen with a decrease in old age was revealed. The absolute area of intimacy and media, increasing by the age of 36–60 years, also significantly decreases in the age range of 61–74 years. At the same time, the relative area of intima to the vessel lumen has insignificant fluctuations, remaining a stable value in all age groups. The specific area of intima relative to the entire area of the vessel as a whole has a stable indicator, increasing in old age. The Kernogan Index tends to decrease throughout the studied age range from 33 to 26 %, which indicates the preservation of the spacecraft throughput in all the studied groups, including the elderly. This is also evidenced by the dynamics of the ratio of the diameter of the CA lumen to the thickness of the vessel wall, including intima and media, reaching maximum values of 4.15 by the period of 36–60 years, remaining at a high level of 3.53 and in the oldest age group. At the same time, the specific share of media significantly decreases in all groups of the studied age range of 17–74 years from 62.1 to 50.5 %. The ratio of the maximum lumen area of the vessel to the minimum as an indicator of the potential possibility of increasing the lumen of the spacecraft turned out to be maximum atthe ages of 17–21 years and 22–35 years,significantly decreasing in older age groupsfrom 176 to 130 %.

Conclusion. Age-related remodeling of the spacecraft consistsin fairly stable morphometric parameters of the spacecraft in the age range from 17–21 years to a period of 36–60 years with a decrease at an older age, when a decrease in the absolute area of the lumen and the entire spacecraft isrevealed. A significant progressive decrease in the specific proportion of media and an increase in the proportion of intima in the structure of the vessel wall are shown. At the same time, up to the age of 36–60 years, spacecraft maintain their throughput indicators at a high level. Further studies of CA in vascular pathology may be useful in understanding the causes and mechanisms of the association of erectile dysfunction with the age of men.