Retrieving Orientation and Distribution of Myelin in Human Brain affected by Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) using 3D Scanning Small Angle X-r

Neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of structure and/or function of neurons and might include the death of neurons. Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease that occurs as a result of neurodegenerative processes. Applying MRI, it has been shown earlier that the trigeminal pathways in the pons got changed significantly and give rise to what is referred to in the literature as “hot cross bun”. We would like to investigate the structural changes that occurred for a post-mortem human pons and compare the results with a non-pathological sample by using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Here, we propose to carry out 3D scanning SAXS to determine the 3D structural details of the microstructural objects (nerve fibers, myelin, etc.) in the brainstem regions (area <20 x 20 mm2).