Spondyloarthropathy identified as the etiology of Nubian erosive arthritis

Abstract

Slight variation in manifestation of different diseases may allow a single individual with one disease to mimic the "classic" appearance of another, as evidenced by the frequent confusion of spondyloarthropathy with rheumatoid arthritis. Analysis of population occurrence of arthritis (rather than isolated skeletons) facilitates more precise diagnosis. Northeast Africans living around 2,000 years before present were clearly afflicted with a form of spondyloarthropathy. Lack of inclusion of spondyloarthropathy in the differential diagnosis of erosive arthritis led to past misclassification of Nubians as having rheumatoid arthritis. While evidence of spondyloarthropathy abounds in the literature of human skeletal disease, pre-Columbian Old World rheumatoid arthritis is still elusive. The current study further documents the absence of rheumatoid arthritis in Nubians, supporting the hypothesis that rheumatoid arthritis began in the New World.

Pre-Columbian Tuberculosis in Northwest Argentina: Skeletal Evidence from Rincón Chico 21 Cemetery

“…According to Rothschild et al . (), although the involvement of the anterior aspect of vertebral bodies also occurs in spondyloarthropathy, the rarefaction is much more common than cyst formation.…”

“…In the first case, lytic lesions present rectangular rather than rounded morphology, and kyphosis, when it occurs, is not angular. According to Rothschild et al (1999), although the involvement of the anterior aspect of vertebral bodies also occurs in spondyloarthropathy, the rarefaction is much more common than cyst formation.…”

Examining Reactive Arthropathy in Military Skeletal Assemblages: A Pilot Study Using the Mass Grave Assemblage from the Battle of Towton (1461)

“…The key features examined for age estimation in this study were: epiphyseal fusion (only an option in young adults, based on McKern and Stewart 1957), dental attrition (compared to Brothwell 1981), changes to the pubic symphysis (using Brooks and Suchey 1990), and changes to the auricular surface of the pelvis (using Lovejoy et al 1985). After comparing the ages assigned by the various methods, individuals were placed into one of four potential categorizations based on ten year increments, which were: Young Adult (16-25), Lower Middle Adult Arriaza 1993;Blondiaux et al 1997;Hacking et al 1994;Inoue et al 2005;Inoue et al 1999;Martin-Dupont et al 2006;Mckinnon et al 2013;Rogers et al 1991;Rothschild et al 1999;Rothschild et al 1990;Rothschild and Heathcote, 1995;Rothschild and Woods 1991;Šlaus et al 2012;Tersigni-Tarrant and Zachow 2010;Waldron 2009;Waldron et al 1994;Waldron and Rogers 1990;Zias and Mitchell 1996). Source: created by author.…”

Primary or Secondary Synostosis: The Culmination of the Spondyloarthritis Form of Erosive Arthritis?

“…Fusion of proximal radioulnar and tibiofibular joints are not only documented in current patients with SpA 7 , but have been documented in SpA-afflicted individuals in the archeologic and paleontologic record 3,4,8 . Recognized in anatomical collections (e.g., Terry collection from the earliest 20th century, curated at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA), the archeologic record documents about a 5% prevalence of this phenomenon among individuals with SpA 3,4,6,9 . A classic example is in the Tate Museum Columbian mammoth (Casper, Wyoming, USA).…”