International Journal of Paleopathology 
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This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.Vitamin D deficiency in bioarchaeology and beyond: The study of rickets and osteomalacia in the past
Publication date: Available online 27 July 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): S. Mays, M. Brickley (Source: International Journal of Paleopathology)
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 27, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
The rachitic tooth: Refining the use of interglobular dentine in diagnosing vitamin D deficiency
ConclusionsWe conclude that caution is required when evaluating low-grade IGD, as it may be misidentified.Contribution to knowledgeInformation reviewed and assimilated contributes to refining the role of IGD to act as a biological marker, particularly in less severe cases of vitamin D deficiency through provision of clear guidance.Limitations of this studyInformation from earlier experimental work is limited and until recently understanding of vitamin D and deficiency of this pro-hormone was restricted.Suggestions for further researchFurther data could be gathered from living individuals with known biological/medical infor...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 24, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
A rare case of child abuse from early modern Lithuania
Publication date: Available online 17 July 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Justina Kozakaitė, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Žydrūnė Miliauskienė, Rokas Girčius, Jūratė Dementavičienė, Rimantas JankauskasAbstractThe aim of this article was to describe the outcome of a probable case of physical abuse in the remains of a child dating from the 16th–18th centuries CE. The skeleton of a subadult was recovered during archaeological excavations carried out in the village of Užubaliai, located in Alytus in southern Lithuania, and subsequently curated in the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius Univers...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 18, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
On engagement with anthropology: A critical evaluation of skeletal and developmental abnormalities in the Atacama preterm baby and issues of forensic and bioarchaeological research ethics. Response to Bhattacharya et al. “Whole-genome sequencing of Atacama skeleton shows novel mutations linked with dysplasia” in Genome Research, 2018, 28: 423–431. Doi: 10.1101/gr.223693.117
Publication date: September 2018Source: International Journal of Paleopathology, Volume 22Author(s): Siân E. Halcrow, Kristina Killgrove, Gwen Robbins Schug, Michael Knapp, Damien Huffer, Bernardo Arriaza, William Jungers, Jennifer GunterAbstractHere we evaluate Bhattacharya et al.’s (2018) recent paper “Whole-genome sequencing of Atacama skeleton shows novel mutations linked with dysplasia” published in Genome Research. In this short report, we examine the hypothesis that the so-called “Atacama skeleton” has skeletal abnormalities indicative of dysplasia, critique the validity of the interpretations of disease ...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 18, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Mummy studies and the bioarchaeology of care
Publication date: Available online 13 July 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Kenneth C. Nystrom, Lorna TilleyAbstractThe bioarchaeology of care is a framework through which researchers can begin to infer the level of care an individual may have required based on the presence of paleopathological evidence. To date, all of the research that has employed the framework has been based on evidence derived from skeletal material. This special issue was organized in order to highlight how the analysis of mummified soft tissue, as well as other sources of data commonly associated with mummified remains, ...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 14, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
The importance of pathophysiology to the understanding of functional limitations in the bioarchaeology of care approach
This article presents a partial bioarchaeology of care case study of a mummified adult female with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from late historic period United States. It examines likely clinical and functional impacts of disease and corresponding need for provision of care, stopping short of Stage 4 Interpretation/analysis. The case study illustrates and argues for the importance of an interdisciplinary research team for achieving a comprehensive understanding of disability and care. The article highlights the necessity of knowledge of pathophysiology for identifying the potential interventions (supports)...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 13, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
The rachitic tooth: The use of radiographs as a screening technique
This study investigates morphological changes in pulp chambers of living and archaeological individuals with past vitamin D deficiency. Living individuals (n = 29), four with detailed medical and dental records and three groups of archaeological individuals (n = 25) were radiographed; selected individuals were further evaluated histologically for the presence of incremental interglobular dentin (IIGD), indicative of deficiency (28 living; 17 archaeological). Measurements of pulp horns/chambers from radiographs were conducted to quantify morphological observations. One group had clear skeletal evidence o...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Gender-related vitamin D deficiency in a Dutch 19th century farming community
Publication date: Available online 10 November 2017Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Barbara Veselka, Alie E. van der Merwe, Menno L.P. Hoogland, Andrea L. Waters-RistAbstractThe most common cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate dermal exposure to sunlight. Residual rickets is nonadult vitamin D deficiency still evident in an adult individual, whereas osteomalacia occurs in adulthood. Previous research on the Beemster population, a 19th century rural community in the Netherlands, identified rickets in 30.4% of the nonadults between the ages of two and four years (n = 7/23). Because t...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
The epidemiology of rickets in the 17th–19th centuries: Some contributions from documentary sources and their value to palaeopathologists
This article considers the nature of written sources on the epidemiology of rickets in the post-Mediaeval period, and examines the value of these sources for palaeopathologists. There is a progression from 17th–18th century sources, which generally make ex cathedra, qualitative statements on rickets frequency to, in the 19th century, semi-quantitative geographical surveys of its occurrence, through to reports of percentage prevalence in various groups. Of course, even these latter cannot be directly compared with prevalences calculated from excavated skeletal remains, but there are also considerable difficulties in compa...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Use of high resolution computed tomography to diagnose ante-mortem dental root fractures in archaeological samples
This study demonstrates the potential of high resolution CT in confirming and refuting ante-mortem processes, and that visualisation of 3D structures is crucial for arriving at definitive diagnoses. (Source: International Journal of Paleopathology)
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Vitamin D’s role in health and disease: How does the present inform our understanding of the past?
Publication date: Available online 28 November 2017Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Laura Lockau, Stephanie A. AtkinsonAbstractWhile the role of vitamin D in supporting bone homeostasis during growth and maintenance is well substantiated, emerging evidence from ecological and observational studies suggests that a deficiency of vitamin D is associated with some cancers, immune disorders, cardiovascular disease, abnormal glucose metabolism, and neurodegenerative diseases. Biological plausibility for extraskeletal functions originated with the discovery of the vitamin D receptor in many body tissues a...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Rare paleopathological insights into vitamin D deficiency rickets, co-occurring illnesses, and documented cause of death in mid-19th century London, UK
This study investigated paleopathological evidence and documentary records of individual cause of death to examine disease co-occurrence in a group of mid-19th century child burials from London, UK. Twenty-one percent of children had vitamin D deficiency rickets (138/642) and 36 children with rickets had an identified cause of death. Cyclical episodes of metabolic and nutritional deficiencies (rickets and scurvy) had occurred during childhood. Active rickets co-occurred with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in a small number of children, likely reflecting vitamin D’s role in supporting immune function. Conside...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Radiographically recognizable? An investigation into the appearance of osteomalacic pseudofractures
Publication date: Available online 4 January 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Emma Jennings, Jo Buckberry, Megan BrickleyAbstractPseudofractures, lucent bands that occur due to a build-up of osteoid, are a key feature of osteomalacia. In paleopathology, pseudofractures are often marked by small, linear cracks in the cortex of the bone surrounded by irregular, bony spicule formation. Radiography can be used to help diagnose pseudofractures, both clinically and in paleopathology. A detailed understanding of the radiographic appearance of pseudofractures and their development is, therefore, necess...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
The discovery and synthesis of the nutritional factor vitamin D
Publication date: Available online 17 January 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Glenville JonesAbstractAlthough vitamin D deficiency was first recognized as rickets/osteomalacia in the early 1600s, it was only a century ago that vitamin D, the nutritional factor responsible, was discovered. This discovery was made difficult by the fact that the substance could be synthesized in human skin by exposure to UV light and could also be present in the diet in animal-derived (D3) and plant-derived forms (D2). Prior to 1920, the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in the general population of industrialize...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
Analysis of patterning in the occurrence of skeletal lesions used as indicators of vitamin D deficiency in subadult and adult skeletal remains
Publication date: Available online 17 January 2018Source: International Journal of PaleopathologyAuthor(s): Megan B. Brickley, Simon Mays, Michele George, Tracy L. ProwseAbstractPaleopathological investigations of conditions linked to vitamin D deficiency have increased in the last twenty years, and a suite of skeletal lesions has been established to aid in the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency disease in subadults and adults. This paper analyzes the occurrence of these lesions in a large skeletal series comprising 3541 Roman period individuals (1st–6th century AD). Sixteen lesions reported in rickets in subadults, and 1...
Source: International Journal of Paleopathology - July 10, 2018 Category: Pathology Source Type: research
