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What changes occur in heart muscle during brown atrophy of the heart?
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atrophy
One example of atrophy is the progressive loss of bone that occurs in osteoporosis (normal bone shown on left; osteoporotic bone shown on right).
Brown atrophy of the heart is a condition observed in the heart muscle of the aged, characterized by specific structural and cellular changes.
The primary features of this condition include:
- Lipofuscin Accumulation: There is a notable increase of the pigment lipofuscin within the muscle fibres of the heart.1
- Tissue Changes: The wasting of the heart muscle may be accompanied by an increase in fibrous and fatty tissue within the walls of the right side of the heart.1
- Vascular Alterations: There is often an increased replacement of elastic tissue with fibrous tissue in the lining and walls of the coronary arteries located within the heart muscle.1
- Amyloid Deposits: Abnormal deposits of the protein substance amyloid occur with greater frequency in the atrophic heart muscle during old age.1