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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 34/12/1948    most recent 0363546506290060v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wentorf, F. A. Articles by Carlson, C. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wentorf, F. A. Articles by Carlson, C. S. Related Collections Injury Female Athletes Knee Biomechanics

The Effects of Estrogen on Material and Mechanical Properties of the Intra- and Extra-articular Knee Structures

Fred A. Wentorf, MS^*, Kenji Sudoh, MD^*, Christina Moses^*, Elizabeth A. Arendt, MD^*, and Cathy S. Carlson, DVM, PhD

From the ^* Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota

Address correspondence to Elizabeth Arendt, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, 2450 Riverside Ave, Ste R200, Minneapolis, MN 55454 (e-mail: arend001{at}umn.edu).

Background: Female athletes have a higher incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries than do male athletes in similar sports. Hormones, particularly estrogen, have been indicated by some studies to be correlated with the disproportionate number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes.

Hypothesis: Estrogen does not affect the mechanical or material properties of primate anterior cruciate ligaments or patellar tendons.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Twenty-six cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were divided into 2 groups: sham operated (estrogen maintained, n = 12) and ovariectomized (estrogen deficient, n = 14). After 2 years, the animals were sacrificed, and various properties of ligaments were tested. Two different ligaments were studied, the anterior cruciate ligament and patellar tendon.

Results: No differences were found between the sham-operated (sham) and ovariectomized group for failure load (anterior cruciate ligament: sham, 394 ± 67 N; ovariectomized, 392 ± 96 N; P > .74), stiffness, elongation at failure, ultimate stress (anterior cruciate ligament: sham, 115 ± 30 MPa; ovariectomized, 128 ± 36 MPa; P > .58), ultimate strain, modulus, failure sites, or energy to failure.

Conclusion: Endogenous estrogen does not directly affect the mechanical or material properties of the anterior cruciate ligament or the patellar tendon of cynomolgus macaques.

Clinical Relevance: This study supports the idea that knee ligament injury in female athletes is not a direct result of estrogen’s effect on ligament properties.

Key Words: estrogen • biomechanics • anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) • gender

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