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ArticleAnatomical science international2025

Morphometrical analysis of myelinated nerve fibers: is there a room for improvement?

Taras Kotyk, Thomas C Varkey, Anastasiia Demydchuk, Svitlana Shamalo, Nadiya Tokaruk, Viktoriia Bedei, Omelian Yurakh, Oksana Popadynets

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Article in Anatomical science international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Taras KotykDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Halytska Street, 2, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. tkotyk@ifnmu.edu.ua.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3585-2356
Thomas C VarkeyDepartment of Neurology, The University of AZ College of Medicine - Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Anastasiia DemydchukDepartment of Histology and Embryology, Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Svitlana ShamaloDepartment of Histology and Embryology, Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Nadiya TokarukDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Halytska Street, 2, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Viktoriia BedeiDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Halytska Street, 2, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Omelian YurakhDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Halytska Street, 2, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Oksana PopadynetsDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Halytska Street, 2, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite advancements in automatic approaches for histomorphometry analysis of peripheral nerves, manual and semi-automated methods are widely utilized. Standard software functions are often unsuitable for analysis due to their irregular shapes, especially in pathological conditions. This study aims to assess the reproducibility of nerves morphometric analysis and compare results obtained using both default and new alternative algorithms. Sciatic nerves from Wistar rats (untreated and after administration of intraperitoneal hydrargyrum chloride), previously embedded in resin, were used. Morphometric analysis (diameters, myelin thickness, g-ratio, and circularity) was conducted using ImageJ on semithin sections, with axon and myelin boundaries manually outlined. Default diameters were calculated as the mean of Feret diameters, with subsequent calculations for myelin thickness and g-ratio. The alternative approach estimated diameters based on the geometric center of axons, iterating through selected coordinates; myelin thickness was obtained using line equations. In the control group, inter-rater agreement was higher or within expected reliability (0.8 ± 0.05). However, in the experimental group, myelin thickness, g-ratio, and axon circularity showed lower agreement (0.66, 0.58, and 0.68, respectively) without visible patterns on Bland-Altman plots. The alternative approach did not reveal significant differences between approaches, except for g-ratio in the control group and fiber diameter in the experimental group (p < 0.05), with effect sizes of 0.29-0.30 and 0.19-0.20, respectively. This study highlights reduced agreement among investigators analyzing nerve fibers under pathological conditions, raising concerns about the current standard measurement methods. The proposed approach, based on a single geometric center, provides more natural estimations for irregular fibers, and can be implemented in automated nerve fibers acquisition systems.

Indexed as

Nerve Fibers, MyelinatedSciatic NerveAlgorithmsAnimalsAxonsImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMaleMyelin SheathRatsRats, WistarReproducibility of ResultsAlgorithmsAnimalsMyelinated nerve fibersReproducibility of resultsSciatic nerve

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.