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Gomes RAMP, Catarino L, Santos AL. The Role of Fe, S, P, Ca, and Sr in Porous Skeletal Lesions: A Study on Non-adult Individuals Using pXRF. Biol Trace Elem Res 2024:10.1007/s12011-024-04187-4. [PMID: 38691307 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-024-04187-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Portable X-ray fluorescence is a new tool in the study of human bone. This research aims to investigate if variations in bone elemental concentrations are related with porous skeletal lesions (PSLs). One hundred well-preserved non-adult skeletons aged 0-11 years were selected from the archaeological site Convent of São Domingos, Lisbon (18th-19th century). Measuring a standard reference material and calculating the technical error of measurement assured elemental data reliability. Moreover, measuring soil samples excluded possible contamination of bones with elements from the soil, except for Pb. Additionally, the Ca/P ratio indicates maintenance of bone integrity. Cribra cranii, orbitalia, humeralis, and femoralis were recorded as present/absent, and the estimated intra-/inter-observer errors were low. The multivariate analysis found higher odds of having cribra orbitalia (OR = 1.76; CI = 0.97-3.20) and cribra femoralis (OR = 1.42; CI = 0.73-2.74) in individuals with lower Fe and higher S. Furthermore, higher levels of P, Ca, and Sr increased the odds of individuals developing cribra femoralis (OR = 2.30; CI = 1.23-4.29). Age also correlated with increased odds of exhibiting cribra orbitalia (OR = 1.86; CI = 0.94-3.68), cribra femoralis (OR = 6.97; CI = 2.78-17.45), and cribra humeralis (OR = 8.32; CI = 2.71-25.60). These findings suggest a shared etiology for these three cribras, contrasting with the higher Fe levels in individuals with cribra cranii. Lower Fe and higher S levels in individuals with cribra suggest a complex etiology, possibly involving conditions like megaloblastic or chronic disease anemia(s). Age-related elemental changes support the hypothesis that age influences cribra frequencies. This study highlights PSL complexity and opens new avenues for research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A M P Gomes
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua Do Arco da Traição, 3000-056, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Carrera de Antropologia, University of Concepción, Barrio Universitário S/N, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Lidia Catarino
- Geosciences Center, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima - Pólo II, 3030-790, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Luisa Santos
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua Do Arco da Traição, 3000-056, Coimbra, Portugal
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Brickley MB. Perspectives on anemia: Factors confounding understanding of past occurrence. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2024; 44:90-104. [PMID: 38181478 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This paper reviews factors confounding the understanding of the past occurrence of anemia. Using the evidence gathered, a framework is presented of ways forward to enable greater confidence in diagnosing acquired anemia in paleopathology, facilitating insights into longer-term perspectives on this globally relevant condition. RESULTS To date, porotic lesions have been central to paleopathological investigations of anemia. The fact that porotic bone lesions are omnipresent and have multiple causes but are likely to have a relatively low, age-related frequency in individuals with anemia, a condition that will have been common in past communities, is confounding. METHODS Establishing frameworks that move away from porotic lesions is proposed to facilitate higher levels of more accurate anemia diagnoses in paleopathology. SIGNIFICANCE Acceptance of the fundamental principle that anemia may be better considered as a condition requiring metric evaluation of bone structures, supplemented by careful consideration of lesions, will advance understanding of acquired anemia in past communities. Such an approach would provide a clear basis for further consideration of congenital conditions causing anemia, such as sickle-cell disease and thalassemia. LIMITATIONS This paper simply opens the conversation on the better diagnosis of anemia in paleopathology; it starts the iterative process of achieving some consensus and progress on diagnosing anemia in paleopathology. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Engagement with ideas presented, sharing data and development of metric parameters will assist in identifying the effects of marrow hyperplasia on bone, enabling more robust work on the important topic of anemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan B Brickley
- McMaster University, Department of Anthropology, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L9, Canada.
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Boualam MA, Corbara AG, Aboudharam G, Istria D, Signoli M, Costedoat C, Drancourt M, Pradines B. The millennial dynamics of malaria in the mediterranean basin: documenting Plasmodium spp. on the medieval island of Corsica. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1265964. [PMID: 38143446 PMCID: PMC10739463 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1265964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The lack of well-preserved material upon which to base the paleo-microbiological detection of Plasmodium parasites has prevented extensive documentation of past outbreaks of malaria in Europe. By trapping intact erythrocytes at the time of death, dental pulp has been shown to be a suitable tissue for documenting ancient intraerythrocytic pathogens such as Plasmodium parasites. Methods Total DNA and proteins extracted from 23 dental pulp specimens collected from individuals exhumed from the 9th to 13th century archaeological site in Mariana, Corsica, were analyzed using open-mind paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry and direct metagenomics, Plasmodium-targeting immunochromatography assays. All experiments incorporated appropriate negative controls. Results Paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of parasites Plasmodium spp. in the dental pulp of nine teeth. A further immunochromatography assay identified the presence of at least one Plasmodium antigen in nine individuals. The nine teeth, for which the PfHRP-2 antigen specific of P. falciparum was detected, were also positive using paleo-autoimmunohistochemistry and metagenomics. Conclusion Dental pulp erythrocytes proved to be suitable for the direct paleomicrobiology documentation of malaria in nine individuals buried in medieval Corsica, in agreement with historical data. This provides additional information on the millennial dynamics of Plasmodium spp. in the Mediterranean basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Abdelwadoud Boualam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Anne-Gaëlle Corbara
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Gérard Aboudharam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Daniel Istria
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Michel Signoli
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Caroline Costedoat
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Unité Parasitologie et Entomologie, Département Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Service de Santé des Armées, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, VITROME, Marseille, France
- Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, Marseille, France
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Le Mort F, Baker JO, Chamel B, Coqueugniot H, Dutour O. Oldest evidence of tuberculosis in the Mediterranean islands: From the mainland to Cyprus. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102388. [PMID: 38012923 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies combining macroscopical observations and microCT analysis strongly suggested the diagnosis of tuberculosis for a child from the site of Khirokitia (Cyprus, 7th - early 6th millennium cal. BC), whose age at death is between 5 and 7 years. Many single primary burials were discovered at the site where the dead (MNI = 243) are buried in the same way, whatever their age. Nevertheless, the burial of this child presents a unique feature on the site (a male Ovis trophy marking the limit of the burial pit), probably indicating specific attention for this young deceased. This case is the oldest known in the Mediterranean islands and presents a particular interest from a paleoepidemiological point of view. Indeed, considering, on the one hand, the settlement pattern of the island of Cyprus by migrants from the Near East, and on the other hand, the presence of human tuberculosis in the Near East as early as about 10,500 years BP, it is very likely that the prehistoric migrants brought the disease from mainland to Cyprus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Françoise Le Mort
- Univ Lyon, Archéorient (UMR 5133 CNRS/Université Lyon 2), Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée - Jean Pouilloux, 7 rue Raulin, 69365, Lyon cedex 07, France.
| | - Joseph Oussama Baker
- Univ Lyon, Archéorient (UMR 5133 CNRS/Université Lyon 2), Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée - Jean Pouilloux, 7 rue Raulin, 69365, Lyon cedex 07, France; École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL Université, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014, Paris, France.
| | - Bérénice Chamel
- Univ Lyon, Archéorient (UMR 5133 CNRS/Université Lyon 2), Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée - Jean Pouilloux, 7 rue Raulin, 69365, Lyon cedex 07, France.
| | - Hélène Coqueugniot
- École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL Université, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014, Paris, France; UMR 5199 - PACEA, Allée Geoffroy St Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac Cedex, France.
| | - Olivier Dutour
- École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL Université, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014, Paris, France; UMR 5199 - PACEA, Allée Geoffroy St Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac Cedex, France.
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Schats R. Developing an archaeology of malaria. A critical review of current approaches and a discussion on ways forward. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2023; 41:32-42. [PMID: 36930997 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This paper presents the current state of the art in the investigation of past malaria by providing an extensive review of previous studies and identifying research possibilities for the future. MATERIALS All previous research on the detection of malaria in human skeletal material using macroscopic and biomolecular approaches is considered. METHODS The approaches and methods used by scholars and the results they obtained are evaluated and the limitations discussed. RESULTS There is a link between malaria and porous lesions with significantly higher prevalence in malaria-endemic areas, however, they are not pathognomonic or specific for malaria. Malaria can be identified using biomolecular techniques, yet, to date there is no completely satisfactory method that is able to consistently diagnose the disease. CONCLUSIONS Using macroscopic and biomolecular techniques, malaria can be investigated in past populations and the impact of the disease studied. Yet, this is not a straightforward process and the use of multiple lines of evidence is necessary to obtain the best results. SIGNIFICANCE The extensive discussion on ways malaria can and cannot be identified in past populations and the suggestions for new approaches provide a steppingstone for future research into this debilitating, global disease. LIMITATIONS Malaria is a difficult disease to study archaeologically and successful identification depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH More large-scale spatial analyses of porous lesions as well as targeting different tissues or molecules for biomolecular identification may improve the archaeological understanding of malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Schats
- Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology, Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology, Einsteinweg 2, 2333CC Leiden, the Netherlands.
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