Histologic analysis of the lumbosacral nerve roots after compression in young and aged rabbits.
METHODS
The histologic changes in the lumbosacral nerve roots of aged rabbits because of chronic (graded) and acute compression were compared with those seen in young rabbits.


OBJECTIVE
To study differences in the process of recovery from nerve compression between the aged and the young.


BACKGROUND
Clinical findings often differ between nerve compressive lesions in young and aged patients. Little has been reported on the pathologic basis of this difference.


METHODS
Forty-five Japanese white rabbits were used. The cauda equina and spinal nerve root were compressed with a device specifically designed for this purpose. Nerve compression was applied to the dura mater and nerve roots after partial laminectomy. The specimens were sampled at 1 month or 3 months after acute or graded nerve compression.


RESULTS
An increase in small myelinated fibers, consistent with the process of regeneration, was observed by light microscopy; this difference was greater in the young group than in the aged group. Reactive degenerative changes, as seen by electron microscopy, were more often observed in the aged group than in the young group.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate the suppression of regeneration and the latent fragility of the aged neural tissue. This may explain the clinical findings observed in aged patients with degenerative lumbar lesions.
Toh
E
E
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Mochida
J
J
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007796:Laminectomy; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure