• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.24-26
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• 2014

Aging causes a variety of changes in the structure of the vocal fold (VF), resulting in aging-induced dysphonia (presbyphonia). Several studies have investigated the structure of the VF of elderly people from autopsy as well as animal studies. There is an increasing evidence on correlation of structural changes of VF with deteriorated voice in elderly. Although the cellular mechanisms of aging VF have only partially been elucidated, there are many recent advances in biological treatment on aging VF using bioactive molecules such as growth factors. In this study, I'd like to address aging-related structural, biological, and physiological changes in previous literature about human and rodent aging VFs, to provide further insight into the mechanisms responsible for presbyphonia and to translate the basic researches for future clinical trials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.47-50
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• 2018

Trauma, congenital malformation and aging process can be a cause of the deviation of laryngeal prominence in the thyroid cartilage. Among these, the senility is the most common cause. Usually, ossification in the thyroid cartilage has occurred symmetrically, but the asymmetrical event leads to the shift of laryngeal prominence. Also, such deformity can provoke protrusion of false vocal fold. A 75-year-old man with hoarseness and globus sense in throat visited our clinic. Five years ago, he experienced a blunt trauma on left midline neck and had a concave deformity in the left thyroid cartilage lamina. Laryngoscopic findings revealed a marked protrusion in the left false vocal fold. We performed the laryngeal microsurgery to discriminate the tumorous condition. The pathology revealed non-pathologic mucosa. We report a unique and didactic case with a brief literature review.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.124-127
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• 2019

Vocal fold scarring is an intractable phonosurgical condition. The number of patients with vocal fold scars is increasing with the aging of society and with the increasing application of laryngeal microsurgery. Many methods are available to treat these, including voice therapy, stem cells, regenerative scaffolds, and growth factors. However, no standard treatment strategy has yet been established, and novel techniques are required. Basic fibroblast growth factor has been shown to be effective for the treatment of mild chronic vocal fold scarring. The combined use of basic fibroblast growth factor and regenerative scaffolds is currently under investigation. Here, we report a female patient in whom vocal fold scarring developed after two laryngeal microsurgeries. We performed laryngeal microsurgery to remove the scar tissue and used basic fibroblast growth factor and a collagen scaffold to promote healing. The patient's voice quality was greatly increased, and she was content with her voice after 2 years of follow-up. This is the first report of this methodology in Korea and is presented along with a review of the literature.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.66-70
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• 2020

Background and Objectives Presbyphonia is characterized by hoarse, breathy, weak vocal intensity. Extracellular matrix (ECM) in lamina propria (LP) of the vocal folds play an important role in voice production, and change of ECM according to the aging leads to the presbyphonia. The aim of this study was to investigate the histologic analysis of aging vocal fold of rat. Materials and Method Six and twenty two months old Sprague-Dawley rats (n=8, each group) were used and classified into young (six months old rats) and old (twenty two months old rats) group. Histologic analysis and immunohistochemical staining for ECM of LP were performed. Results Overall cellular density was significantly decreased in old rat group. Elastin fibers of LP were significantly decreased in old rat group. Type I collagen was significantly increased in old rat group. Type III collagen did not show significant difference. Hyaluronic acids did not show significant difference in Alcian blue staining and immunohistochemical staining. Conclusion Decreased general cellular density and elastin fiber and increased type I collagen were observed in the LP of vocal folds of aging rats. These ECM changes might to contribute the aging voice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.135-139
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• 2005

Summary: This study evaluated the relationship between voice complaint and deviant vocal fold status with special regard to presbylarynx, in patients aged more than 60 years with pharyngeal-laryngeal complaint. The material consisted of clinical histories and images obtained by laryngoscopies of 75 patients aged more than 60 years, who had sought otorhinolaryngologic treatment. Indicative glottic characteristics of the presbylarynx, such as vocal fold bowing(VFB), prominence of vocal processes (PVP), and membranous spindle shaped glottic chink(MSC) and the presence or absence of voice complaint were analyzed Also, acoustic parameters such as fundamental frequency(Fo), jitter percent and shimmer percent were analyzed. VFB showed a strong correlation with voice complaint in male. Jitter and shimmer were correlated with VFB, PVP, MSC in female.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 1996

The voice of aged persons is known generally to be somewhat different from that of other adults, suggesting that laryngeal change occurs with advancing age. However, because knowledge of the voice characteristics of aged persons is limited, it is difficult to judge whether their voices arc normal. Chart review and laryngoscopic examination from ninety-one patients with hoarseness over the age of 60(1st group) and one hundred sixteen patients with hoarseness below the age of 50(2nd group) were done to define aging related voice disorders. The following results were obtained. 1) Associated diseases related to laryngeal disease were hypertension(12%), pulmonary disease(4.4%), thyroid disease(1.1%) in 1st group and hypertension(9.5%), thyroid disease(1.7%) in 2nd group. 2) The underlying diseases causing hoarseness in order of frequency were benign vocal fold lesion(37.7%), inflammatory disease(36.8%), functional dysphonia(17%) in 1st group and benign vocal fold lesion(43.6%), functional dysphonia(26.3%), inflammatory disease(16.5%) in 2nd group. 3) In stroboscopic findings, atrophy and sulcus of vocal cords are more prevalent in males than in females and edema of vocal cords is more common in females. Generally the voice characteristics of aged persons depend on the mass of the vocal folds which may be decreased through atrophy or be increased by edema. However, other factors such as systemic diseases, drug side effects and compensatory mechanism to presbylaryngis must be taken into account in diagnosing and treating voice disorders in aged persons.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2018

The elderly are at increased risk of developing dysphagia due to aging and illnesses. The aim of the current study was to analyze, via an acoustic study, the change in the voice quality of normal elderly people after a 3oz water-swallow test. Subjects included a group of 60 normal elderly people (age: $mean{\pm}SD=76.9{\pm}6.66$) and 60 healthy young adults (age: $mean{\pm}SD=25.1{\pm}2.36$). Every participant produced a five-second /a/ phonation pre- and post-swallowing, and the fractioned two-second sections were analyzed using the MDVP (multi dimensional voice program) analysis. The elderly group demonstrated a post-swallowing increase in the following related acoustic parameters: fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency variation, amplitude-variation, and noise in both two-second sections. However, the younger group showed an increase only in frequency related acoustic parameters (i.e., STD ) in the first two-second section. The significant changes in values in the post-swallowing parameters might indicate temporary irregularities in pitch and amplitude along with higher amounts of noise in the voice. The results could be attributed to water residues in the vocal fold and vocal tract, as well as a deterioration of the motor and sensory functions caused by anatomical and physiological changes that result from aging.