Collagen I and III in women with diastasis recti.

OBJECTIVES: Interest in elucidating the etiology of hernias has encouraged countless studies of musculoaponeurotic structures in individuals with and without hernias. Studies of hernia patients have firmly demonstrated a correlation between hernias and collagen alterations in their fascia. Diastasis recti is an increased width of the abdominal midline that is exclusively composed of interlacing aponeurotic expansions of the anterolateral abdominal muscles. The condition is common among women undergoing abdominoplasty, and many factors, not only mechanical, play a role. The goal of this study is to evaluate and compare collagen type I and III levels in the midline fascia of women with and without diastasis recti to report their possible influence on this condition. METHODS: This is a case-control study nested within a surgical cohort of 18 women with diastasis recti and 18 women without the condition (cases and controls, respectively). Fascia from the midline of the abdominal wall was collected and analyzed through immunohistochemistry using polyclonal antibodies to collagen type I and III. RESULTS: Both type I and type III collagen were less abundant in women with diastasis recti than in those without the condition, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Low collagen type I and type III levels in the midline of the abdominal wall may play a key role in the development of diastasis recti.

Collagen I and III in women with diastasis recti

OBJECTIVES: Interest in elucidating the etiology of hernias has encouraged countless studies of musculoaponeurotic structures in individuals with and without hernias. Studies of hernia patients have firmly demonstrated a correlation between hernias and collagen alterations in their fascia. Diastasis recti is an increased width of the abdominal midline that is exclusively composed of interlacing aponeurotic expansions of the anterolateral abdominal muscles. The condition is common among women undergoing abdominoplasty, and many factors, not only mechanical, play a role. The goal of this study is to evaluate and compare collagen type I and III levels in the midline fascia of women with and without diastasis recti to report their possible influence on this condition. METHODS: This is a case-control study nested within a surgical cohort of 18 women with diastasis recti and 18 women without the condition (cases and controls, respectively). Fascia from the midline of the abdominal wall was collected and analyzed through immunohistochemistry using polyclonal antibodies to collagen type I and III. RESULTS: Both type I and type III collagen were less abundant in women with diastasis recti than in those without the condition, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Low collagen type I and type III levels in the midline of the abdominal wall may play a key role in the development of diastasis recti.

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of total and types I and III collagens in patients with ventral hernias.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount of total and types I and III collagens of samples from the linea alba in patients with hernias (epigastric, umbilical, and incisional) on the anterior wall of the abdomen, comparing them to findings obtained from a cadaver control group without hernias. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples of the linea alba aponeurosis from 26 patients with hernias on the anterior abdominal wall and from 32 cadavers without hernias were analyzed and compared for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the total and the types I and III collagens. Sirius-red staining was used to evaluate the total collagen, and for types I and III collagens, immunohistochemistry was used with monoclonal antibody anticollagen types I and III, respectively. RESULTS: The amount of total collagen was 18.05% smaller in patients with hernias than in cadavers (p<0.05). Type I collagen was 20.50% smaller in patients than in cadavers (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the amount of type III collagen between cases and controls (p=0.383). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate a relationship between hernias of the anterior abdominal wall and smaller amounts of total and type I collagens.