We measured the ratio of type I collagen to type II collagen in 8 herniated discs obtained from patients which underwent discectomy by the new method we established; SDS-PAGE.
In young patients, only type II collagen was found in the herniated discs, however, with aging, type II collagen decreased and type I appeared.
We concluded that these results support the decrease of the hydrophilic characteristic of the degenerative disc.
