Light and electron microscopic alterations in spinal cord myelin sheaths after decompression sickness

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pathology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Decompression sickness (DCS) affects the spinal cord, leading to varied treatment responses.
• Understanding the underlying pathology is crucial for effective therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pathological changes in spinal cords following experimental decompression sickness (DCS).
• To correlate observed pathological findings with treatment responses in DCS.

Main Methods:

• Pathological examination of spinal cords from experimental animals using light and electron microscopy.
• Analysis of toluidine blue stained ultrathin sections to identify myelin sheath alterations.

Main Results:

• Identified a distinctive widened myelin sheath with a banded pattern of myelin disruption in DCS-affected animals.
• Confirmed myelin separation between abutting double layers via electron microscopy.
• Observed artifactual changes in both dived and undived animals.

Conclusions:

• The observed myelin changes are potentially caused by DCS and align with proposed pathophysiological mechanisms.
• These findings may elucidate the variable treatment responses seen in experimental animals and human patients.
• The study suggests a link between these pathological changes and late lesion formation in DCS survivors.