Fractal analysis of microglial morphology

Microglial morphology is an important clue to microglial activity and thus may be an important indicator in several pathologies, including dementia and schizophrenia, but is rather difficult to quantify. Structural complexity has been assessed using fractal analysis, offering a way to quantitatively describe otherwise difficult to characterize forms and may be useful in the study of the role of microglia in human disease. We used box-counting dimension to ascertain the utility of fractal analysis in the classification of microglia cells and have found statistically significant differences between subpopulations of these cells (P< 0.05). Microglial form depends on context and is a continuum in a changing context. Not only is form different for subpopulations of microglia; microglia change form over minutes to hours; microglia move; they change complexity with age; they become activated in many different ways; and they are influenced by the local and overall physiological environments. Nevertheless, perhaps form can be assessed during an interval as manifested by their morphology and divided into ramified, bushy or reactive.