title: Is atherosclerosis fundamental to human aging? Lessons from ancient mummies.
abstract: Case reports from Johan Czermak, Marc Ruffer, and others a century or more ago demonstrated ancient Egyptians had atherosclerosis three millennia ago. The Horus study team extended their findings, demonstrating that atherosclerosis was prevalent among 76 ancient Egyptian mummies and among 61 mummies from each of the ancient cultures of Peru, the American Southwest, and the Aleutian Islands. These findings challenge the assumption that atherosclerosis is a modern disease caused by present day risk factors. An extensive autopsy of an ancient Egyptian teenage male weaver named Nakht found that he was infected with four parasites: Schistosoma haematobium, Taenia species, Trichinella spiralis, and Plasmodium falciparum. Modern day patients with chronic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and human immunodeficiency virus experience premature atherosclerosis. Could the burden of chronic inflammatory disease have been a risk factor for atherosclerosis in these ancient cultures? The prevalence of atherosclerosis in four diverse ancient cultures is consistent with atherosclerosis being fundamental to aging. The impact of risk factors in modern times, and potentially in ancient times, suggests a strong gene-environmental interplay: human genes provide a vulnerability to atherosclerosis, the environment determines when and if atherosclerosis becomes manifest clinically.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Emily M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO, USA; University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Randall C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Al Azhar Medical School, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Adel H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Allam
authors.affiliation: Columbia St Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: L Samuel
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wann
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Paleopatologia, Catedra Pedro Weiss, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Guido P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: Newport Diagnostic Center, Newport Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M Linda
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.affiliation: Saddleback Memorial, Laguna Hills, CA, USA.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Samantha L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: National Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Muhammad Al-Tohamy
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Gomaa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abd el-Maksoud
authors.affiliation: Institute of Restoration, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ibrahem
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Badr
authors.affiliation: Mission Internal Medical Group, Mission Viejo, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frohlich
authors.affiliation: University for Science and Technology, 6th of October City, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdel-Halim
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Nur el-din
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontairo, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexandre F R
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jagat
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narula
authors.affiliation: Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, European Academy, Bolzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Albert R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zink
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Caleb E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Finch
authors.affiliation: Miller Children's Hospital, Long Beach, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Michalik
authors.affiliation: MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial, Long Beach, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. Electronic address: gthomas1@memorialcare.org.
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D009106:Mummies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D010164:Paleopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Atherosclerosis; Coronary artery disease; Mummies; Paleopathology