Pilot Ultrastructural Observations of Trauma-Associated Myelin Alterations in Human Autopsy Brain Tissue Following Fatal Road Traffic Injury.

OBJECTIVE

To describe trauma-associated ultrastructural myelin alterations in human autopsy brain tissue following fatal road traffic injury using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

METHODS

Brain tissue from five fatal road traffic accident cases was examined using TEM. Frontal white matter and optic nerve samples were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using Fiji software.

RESULTS

All cases demonstrated myelin sheath abnormalities, including lamellar delamination, irregular organization, concentric whorling, widened inter-lamellar spacing, mitochondrial swelling, and cytoskeletal disruption. Delaminated myelin layers ranged from 3-9 layers, while inter-lamellar distances ranged from 12-50 nm. Similar abnormalities were observed in frontal white matter and optic nerve tissue.

CONCLUSION

This pilot autopsy-based TEM study demonstrated preliminary trauma-associated myelin abnormalities that may support future investigations of trauma-associated myelin and axonal alterations.