QUANTIFICATION OF NEURAL ELEMENTS IN POSTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT: COMPARISON BETWEEN HEALTHY KNEES AND WITH PRIMARY OSTEOARTHROSIS.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the neural elements in the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in healthy knees and with primary osteoarthrosis (OA).

METHODS

In two groups with OA, one of cadavers and another of individuals, the area of neural elements identified in histological sections of PCL with anti-S100 immunohistochemistry was quantified.

RESULTS

The overall mean area of the neural elements was 0.96% ± 0.67%, with the value in the cadaver group of 1.02% ± 0.67% and in the OA group of 0.80% ± 0.64%, with a significant statistically difference (p = 0.001). No correlation was observed between neural element quantification and the age of the individuals (p > 0.05). There was no difference in the quantification of neural elements between the sexes in the cadaver group (p = 0.766), but in the OA group there was a statistically significant reduction in males (p = 0.003). Also, in the osteoarthrosis group there was no difference in the quantification of neural elements in the knees with varus or valgus alignment (p = 0.847).

CONCLUSION

There was a decrease in neural element quantification in PCL of individuals affected by OA in relation to non-arthritic individuals, with this quantification not related to age or with the axis of the lower limb. However, this quantification is not related to age or the axis of the lower limb.