CERVICAL COLLAGEN IN NONPREGNANT WOMEN WITH PREVIOUS CERVICAL INCOMPETENCE

Objective: To study the cervical collagen in non-pregnant women with a history of congenital cervical incompetence. Subjects: Ten non-pregna nt women with congenital cervical incompetence, defined as cervical in competence in the first pregnancy in a woman without previous cervical trauma, Seventy-one normal non-pregnant women (31 nulligravidae, nine nulliparous and 31 parous women) served as controls. Method: Cervical biopsies were analysed for the hydroxyproline concentration and extra ctability to express the concentration and the stability of the collag en. Results: Women with cervical incompetence had markedly lower media n cervical hydroxyproline concentration when compared to normal parous women (11.1 (range 6.11-18.5) mu g/mg wet weight vs. 16.9 (range 7.7- 29.8) mu g/mg wet weight; P = 0.003, Mann Whitney test) and the extrac tability was almost twice the value found in normal parous women (80.2 % vs. 49.5%; P = 0.03, Mann Whitney test). Both pregnancy per ce and p arturition caused a significant decrease in the hydroxyproline concent ration when compared to values found in nulligravidae (P < 0.0001, Kru skall Wallis test). Conclusions: Congenital cervical incompetence seem s associated with a low collagen concentration in the cervical connect ive tissue in the non-pregnant state.