Response to: “Quantitative Histological Analysis of Ligamentum Flavum”

Article information

Asian Spine J. 2018;12(2):390-390
Publication date (electronic) : 2018 April 16
doi : https://doi.org/10.4184/asj.2018.12.2.390
Department of Neurosurgery, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Medical Faculty, Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
Corresponding author: Idiris Altun. Department of Neurosurgery, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Medical Faculty, Kahramanmaras 46050, Turkey. Tel: +90-3442803434, Fax: +90-3442803409, idrisaltun46@hotmail.com
Received 2018 January 09; Accepted 2018 January 09.

Dear Sir,

In reply to your letter, please find answers of our manuscript entitled “Histopathological analysis of ligamentum flavum in lumbar spinal stenosis and disc herniation.”

  1. Comment 1: The authors used hematoxylin & eosin (HE) and Orcein dyes to look for hemosiderin, amyloid, collagen fibres, elastin and calcification. HE stain may not be able to differentiate amyloid with elastin and fibres, so did the authors use some special stains like Congo red? This could lead to a higher value of elastin we fear or no amyloid being observed as reported.

    Answer 1: We used HE and Orcein dyes and no another stains. So hemosiderin and amyloid deposition were not observed in any patients. We wrote the last sentence in the result section

  2. Comment 2: The authors have interpreted their results with collagen concentrations in mg/mL. They have not elaborated the methodology how they have measured this with stains. Did they do some morphometric analysis or use some scoring criterion?

    Amendment: Pathologists used morphometric analysis scoring criterion.

  3. Comment: In results they have quantified elastic fibres malalignment in numbers which is not described as to how in methodology.

    Amendment: Tissue preparations were evaluated by two pathologists who were blinded to the nature of the groups. Specimens were examined with regard to elastic fiber number and array and scored as follows: 0, absent; 1, mild; 2, moderate; and 3, severe. We wrote “Materials and Methods” section and in the outcome parameters.

Yours sincerely,

Idiris Altun

Notes

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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