|
Rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) is an ancient
disease, although the condition
was not recognized by European "official medicine"
until the 1800s. Studying the fossil remains of people with
the disease, along with their environmental surroundings,
could help investigators learn more about the development
of RA and other immune-system-related conditions, the authors
note.
RA, in which the joints
become inflamed and painful, is an often-disabling
condition that occurs when the immune system turns against
the body. The cause of RA, which may actually be several different
diseases, is unknown, and there
is no effective treatment.
The researchers reviewed medical literature,
art, and archeological evidence and found many reports of
a disease that is probably RA.
For example, the Roman emperor Constantine
IX, who lived from 980 to
1055, appears to have had RA, according to a detailed
contemporary description. An Icelandic doctor described RA
in 1782, noting
that it was more common in women and most often struck people
around the age of 40.
And abnormalities identical to those seen
in RA have been found in skeletons of Native Americans living
along the Tennessee River dating from 6500
to 450 BC. Another 21 skeletons found in
Mexico, dating from 1400
BC to 1550 AD, also were found to have RA-like
deformities.
One reason why RA was considered a "new
disease" in the 1800s, the researchers suggest, was that
people rarely lived beyond their 40s, when the disease generally
first develops.
The Journal
of Rheumatology 2001;28:751-757
| 