Type 1 neurofibromatosis is a serious hereditary disease in which mainly skin, nervous, muscular, and bone systems are damaged. In bone systems the most common deformities are thoracic kyphosis and scoliosis. Data for morphological changes in the structural components of spine in neurofibromatosis are scarce. Thus our study aimed to investigate morphological changes in structural components of the spine in NF1 neurofibromatosis. Growth plates, intervertebral discs, and fragments of vertebral bodies from deformed and adjacent segments of the spine were obtained from 15 patients aged 10–14 years with scoliosis (Cobb angle 90–120°) caused by neurofibromatosis. Preoperative examination included MRI study of the spine and brain to exclude intracanal masses, and radiographic study of the spine. Patients did not present any neurological symptoms. All children underwent anterior release and interbody fusion. Structural spinal components from children aged 12–14 years collected at forensic autopsy were used as controls. Tissues were investigated by conventional histochemical and ultrastructural methods. The levels of aggrecan and Introduction
Methods
