[Morphological study of the innervation of spinal ligaments in scoliotic patients]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphology of nerve endings in spinal ligaments of scoliotic and normal patients. Nervous elements were investigated by means of gold chloride (AuCl2) impregnation and an indirect avidine-biotine peroxydase immunohistochemical method. Antiserum to a neurofilament protein (NFP) and S-100 protein were used as specific markers of nervous elements. In scoliotic and normal patients, immunohistochemical staining demonstrated a rich innervation of inter- and supra-spinous ligaments as compared to the yellow ligament. The immunohistochemical staining is however the most convenient and specific mean for studying the innervation in the ligaments. These two staining methods did not show any morphological difference in nervous elements of scoliotics ligaments as compared to the normal ligaments. These findings confront the role of the posterior ligamentous system in proprioception essential both in static and dynamic function of the sepine. However, the degeneration of neural elements in spinal ligaments could be involved in the etiology of the idiopathic scoliosis.