Dual-Source Dual-Energy CT-Scan Confirms the Diagnosis of Ancient Hydatid Cysts Recovered from a Late Roman Burial in Amiens, France.

Background: Two calcified objects recovered from an adolescent in a burial site in Amiens, France, have been previously identified as hydatid cysts using thin-section petrography. The importance of ancient hydatidosis besides the value of these unique archeological excavated materials encouraged the authors to look at this attractive subject more interdisciplinary by implementing medical radiology. Methods: In the current experiment, which has been carried out in the Radiology Department, Tehran Heart Center (THC), Tehran, Iran, the conventional and dual-energy dual-source Tomography, X-Ray Computed-scan was used in studying the remaining structures of the two calcified masses. The imaging procedure was carried out based on X-Ray attenuation by two different tube voltages. Results: A high concentration of calcium sediment in the cyst walls was revealed in Hounsfield units, the measuring of the elements in CT. Taking advantage of implementing this imaging technique the oxalate calcium was also shown as the dominant component of the samples. The results were all in favor of diagnosing hydatid cysts. Conclusion: The achieved pictorial results in the present paper have highlighted the important role of CT scan as a noninvasive confirming technique in paleopathological investigations. Using Dual-source dual-energy CT-scan in reconfirming these previously identified hydatid cysts, is an encouraging message towards the necessity of sequential studies on invaluable biological excavated pieces.

Multiple occurrence of premature polyarticular osteoarthritis in an early medieval Bohemian cemetery (Prague, Czech Republic).

OBJECTIVES: To highlight conditions that may cause early-onset degenerative joint disease, and to assess the possible impact of such diseases upon everyday life. MATERIAL: Four adults aged under 50 years from a medieval skeletal collection of Prague (Czechia). METHODS: Visual, osteometric, X-ray, and histological examinations, stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. RESULTS: All four individuals showed multiple symmetrical degenerative changes, affecting the majority of joints of the postcranial skeleton. Associated dysplastic deformities were observed in all individuals, including bilateral hip dysplasia (n = 1), flattening of the femoral condyles (n = 3), and substantial deformation of the elbows (n = 3). The diet of the affected individuals differed from the contemporary population sample. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the diagnosis of a mild form of skeletal dysplasia in these four individuals, with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia or type-II collagenopathy linked to premature osteoarthritis as the most probable causes. SIGNIFICANCE: Combining the skeletal findings with information from the medical literature, this paper defines several characteristic traits which may assist with the diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia in the archaeological record. LIMITATIONS: As no genetic analysis was performed to confirm the possible kinship of the individuals, it is not possible to definitively assess whether the individuals suffered from the same hereditary condition or from different forms of skeletal dysplasia. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further studies on premature osteoarthritis in archaeological skeletal series are needed to correct the underrepresentation of these mild forms of dysplasia in past populations.

Probable hepatic capillariosis and hydatidosis in an adolescent from the late Roman period buried in Amiens (France).

Two calcified objects recovered from a 3rd to 4th-century grave of an adolescent in Amiens (Northern France) were identified as probable hydatid cysts. By using thin-section petrographic techniques, probable Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica) eggs were identified in the wall of the cysts. Human hepatic capillariosis has not been reported from archaeological material so far, but could be expected given the poor level of environmental hygiene prevalent in this period. Identification of tissue-dwelling parasites such as C. hepaticum in archaeological remains is particularly dependent on preservation conditions and taphonomic changes and should be interpreted with caution due to morphological similarities with Trichuris sp. eggs.

Distinct clones of Yersinia pestis caused the black death.

From AD 1347 to AD 1353, the Black Death killed tens of millions of people in Europe, leaving misery and devastation in its wake, with successive epidemics ravaging the continent until the 18(th) century. The etiology of this disease has remained highly controversial, ranging from claims based on genetics and the historical descriptions of symptoms that it was caused by Yersinia pestis to conclusions that it must have been caused by other pathogens. It has also been disputed whether plague had the same etiology in northern and southern Europe. Here we identified DNA and protein signatures specific for Y. pestis in human skeletons from mass graves in northern, central and southern Europe that were associated archaeologically with the Black Death and subsequent resurgences. We confirm that Y. pestis caused the Black Death and later epidemics on the entire European continent over the course of four centuries. Furthermore, on the basis of 17 single nucleotide polymorphisms plus the absence of a deletion in glpD gene, our aDNA results identified two previously unknown but related clades of Y. pestis associated with distinct medieval mass graves. These findings suggest that plague was imported to Europe on two or more occasions, each following a distinct route. These two clades are ancestral to modern isolates of Y. pestis biovars Orientalis and Medievalis. Our results clarify the etiology of the Black Death and provide a paradigm for a detailed historical reconstruction of the infection routes followed by this disease.