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.