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High Accumulation of Calcium and Phosphorus in the Pineal Bodies with Aging

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Abstract

To elucidate compositional changes of the pineal body with aging, the authors investigated age-related changes of elements in the pineal body. After the ordinary dissection by medical students was finished, the pineal bodies and seven arteries were resected from the subjects ranging in age from 58 to 94 years. The element contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. It was found that a high accumulation of Ca and P occurred in the pineal bodies with aging. Regarding the relationships among the elements, it was found that there were significant direct correlations among the contents of Ca, P, and Mg. With regard to the relationships between the pineal body and the arteries, no significant correlations were found in the Ca content between the pineal body and the arteries, such as the thoracic and abdominal aortas and the coronary, common carotid, pulmonary, splenic, and common iliac arteries.

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Acknowledgment

Portions of this work were supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research no. 17200032 from Japan Society for Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Anatomy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara, 634-8521, Japan

    Nutcharin Ongkana, Xiao-zhen Zhao, Setsuko Tohno, Cho Azuma, Yumi Moriwake & Yoshiyuki Tohno

  2. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Nutcharin Ongkana

  3. Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350004, China

    Xiao-zhen Zhao

  4. Laboratory of Environmental Biology, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kinki University, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka, 577-8502, Japan

    Takeshi Minami

Authors
  1. Nutcharin Ongkana
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  2. Xiao-zhen Zhao
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  3. Setsuko Tohno
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  4. Cho Azuma
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  5. Yumi Moriwake
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  6. Takeshi Minami
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  7. Yoshiyuki Tohno
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Correspondence to Yoshiyuki Tohno.

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Ongkana, N., Zhao, Xz., Tohno, S. et al. High Accumulation of Calcium and Phosphorus in the Pineal Bodies with Aging. Biol Trace Elem Res 119, 120–127 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-007-0054-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-007-0054-4

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