Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Egyptian women: 1570 BCE–2011 CE

Paleopathology in the Piraino mummies as illustrated by X-rays

“…In particular, to assess whether atherosclerosis was a condition dependent on the lifestyle of Egyptian elites or if it was also encountered in ancient populations with different subsistence strategies (Allam et al, 2009(Allam et al, , 2011Thompson et al, 2013). Studies have demonstrated atherosclerosis in other prehistoric and historic mummies, including the chalcolithic Iceman, a mummy from the Joseon dynasty, and a pre-agricultural hunter-gatherer population from the Aleutian Islands (Murphy et al, 2003;Abdelfattah et al, 2013;Kim et al, 2015). While research seems to indicate that atherosclerosis is an inherent component of the aging process , it is undeniable that it some cases, such as the mummies from Vilnius, Lithuania, diet and behavior must have played a role (Piombino-Mascali et al, 2014).…”

Evaluating the relationship between lesion burden and aging among the skeletons of an 18th-19th century London cemetery using osteological and radiological analysis

“…Additional research has identified genomic correlates of cardiovascular disease in the South Tyrolean Iceman, who lived 5,000 years ago [ 17 ]. These findings have broadened our understanding of human aging across different time periods and have encouraged reconsideration of arguments about potential disease-causing aspects of ‘the modern lifestyle’ [ 18 – 20 ]. Consequently, the primary goal of this project was to investigate the relationship between disease and age-at-death using data from the past in order to gain a more nuanced appreciation of the relationship between age and disease.…”

Anatomical Confirmation of Computed Tomography-Based Diagnosis of the Atherosclerosis Discovered in 17th Century Korean Mummy

“…Briefly, Allam et al [ 3 – 5 ] performed whole-body CT scanning of ancient Egyptian mummies, examining calcifications within vascular walls for possible signs of atherosclerosis. Thompson et al [ 6 ] used CT imaging to identify suggestive pathognomonic signs of ancient atherosclerosis, namely calcifications localized on vascular walls or along the expected course of arteries Abdelfattah et al [ 7 ] investigated the case of an atherosclerotic Egyptian woman estimated to have lived about 3,000 years ago, discovering calcified arterial atherosclerotic plaques. Most recently, Piombino-Mascali et al [ 8 ] used Thompson et al’s protocol [ 6 ] to isolate vascular calcifications indicative of atherosclerosis in 18 th to 19 th century Lithuanian mummies.…”