Hyperostosis frontalis interna in ancient populations from the Carpathian Basin - A possible relationship between lifestyle and risk of development.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) was examined in different periods of the Carpathian Basin from 4900 BCE to 17th century AD. The study seeks to evaluate temporal changes in HFI and the possible impact of lifestyle on it. MATERIALS: The studied material consisted of 4668 crania from Hungary and Serbia. METHODS: The crania were analyzed employing macroscopic and endoscopic examination. RESULTS: In historic periods, sex and age played a pivotal role in HFI development. Among predominantly pastoralist populations of the 5th-8th and 10th centuries, prevalence of HFI was considerably higher than in the medieval populations of the 9th-17th centuries. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to age and sex, other factors could be implicated in HFI development. The physiological effects of the pastoralist lifestyle and diet on insulin regulation could explain the increased risk of developing HFI in the 5th-8th and 10th-century populations. SIGNIFICANCE: The study provides the first comprehensive dataset of HFI from different archaeological periods from the Carpathian Basin. It has implications for lifestyle and risk of HFI development in past populations. LIMITATIONS: The archaeological periods are not equally represented. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: In order to better understand the etiology of HFI, lifestyle factors can be used to elucidate the risk of developing HFI in ancient populations.

[COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION OF CRANIAL LESIONS, A PALEORADIOLOGICAL APPROACH]. / KOPONYACSONT-LAESIÓK KOMPUTERTOMOGRÁFIÁS VIZSGÁLATA ÉS PALEORADIOLÓGIAI ASPEKTUSAI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Introducing the multidisciplinary paleoradiology research at the Institute of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation Oncology of the Kaposvár University, highlighting the cases with potential central nervous system involvement--from the scanning methods to the 3D printing--in order to draw attention to the historical background and clinical aspects of certain pathological conditions. METHODS: The authors developed the examination protocols for three different CT scanners. Among the examined archaeological remains cranial lesions were identified in 26 cases, from which 4 cases with potential central nervous system involvement are demonstrated. The scanning parameters and the advantages of secondary image reconstructions (multiplanar reconstruction, maximum intensity projection, three-dimensional volume rendering technique) are presented with the cases. RESULTS: The authors demonstrate a case with destructive skull lesions due to syphilis from the 15th century AD, a condition rarely seen or even unknown nowadays in the modern world. With the CT images of the skull base fracture from the Iron Age, signs of healing could be verified. Using the CT images a non-invasive approach is presented in the case of the craniofacial osteosarcoma in order to visualize the local status and the direct intracranial propagation. Advantages of the 3D VRT reconstructions are shown in the case of unilateral coronal suture synostosis. CONCLUSION: Paleoradiological CT examinations serve as a non-invasive, non-destructive tool for studying archaeological remains and artifacts. The special applications provided by the imaging modality contribute to the conventional paleopathological investigations.

A case of unilateral coronal synostosis from Medieval Hungary (9th century A.D.).

A unique single suture craniosynostosis case from the 9(th) century is presented in this paper. Although craniosynostosis is a fairly common pediatric anomaly nowadays, its occurrence in archaeological collections is an uncommon precedent. Since the diagnosis and treatment of premature cranial suture closure usually happens at an early age, evaluation of the whole developmental process is a rare opportunity. The right-sided coronal suture synostosis of this 30-35 years old woman gives an interesting opportunity to observe the effect of this phenomenon in adulthood. Only slight distortion of the viscerocranium and no bony signs of elevated intracranial pressure can be seen on the skull. The women suffered remarkable bending of the whole face and cranial base of the midsagittal plane. Besides the aesthetic disorder, the condition might have contributed to a chronic headache and visual disturbances. The lack of any other typical symptom suggests the diagnosis of isolated craniosynostosis or a milder type of syndromic craniosynostosis, the possibility of an underlying causative mutation cannot be ruled out.

A novel multidisciplinary approach toward a better understanding of cranial suture closure: the first evidence of genetic effects in adulthood.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to perform new, relevant information about cranial suture closure in adults. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in targeted genes were examined, which encode factors that play an important role in cranial suture development and maintenance. Our hypothesis was that some of these genes and polymorphisms can influence the cranial suture obliteration status in adulthood as well. METHODS: Ossification of cranial sutures was ascertained according to Meindl and Lovejoy's vault system (1985: Am J Phys Anthropol 68(1):57-66), and peripheral blood samples were collected during autopsy procedure of 106 individuals at the Department of Forensic and Insurance Medicine, Semmelweis University, Hungary. Genotyping of SNPs was conducted using competitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction KASPar chemistry. Multivariate linear models were used to test whether SNP polymorphism of the investigated genes has a significant effect on the ectocranial suture synostosis in adults. RESULTS: The msh homeobox 1 (MSX1): rs3821947 polymorphism showed significant association with the extent of suture obliteration. CONCLUSIONS: Cranial suture closure in adults is a complex, multifactorial process. According to previous results MSX1 has a role in calvarial bone development and it has an effect on sutural mesenchyme in latter postnatal stages. Our results demonstrate MSX1 effects on suture obliteration in adulthood. These findings represent new, relevant information indicating that genetic background can have an impact on cranial suture closure in adults.

Anthropological examination of the chronologically separated groups of the 11th-13th century Zalavár-Chapel (Zalavár-Kápolna) cemetery from Hungary.

SUMMARY: The Zalavár-Chapel (Hungarian: Zalavár-Kápolna) cemetery was found near the village Zalavár, located in the western part of the Lake Balaton, in the area of the Little-Balaton (in Hungarian: Kis-Balaton) in Hungary. Burial around the chapel started in the second half of the 11th century and was finished in the 13th century. During this period, significant changes occurred in the burial customs, thus the graves can be divided into four groups (horizons) chronologically. The first horizon includes the earliest, while the third and fourth the latest burials. Earlier, it was assumed that the differences in the burial customs were signs of population changes in that area. However, based on the results of our examination, it was used most probably by the same population throughout the whole time. The craniometric comparison of the skeletons of the Zalavár-Chapel cemetery by Euclidean and Penrose distance analysis with the skeletons of other 114 cemeteries--mainly from the Carpathian-basin--showed that the majority of the population of the studied cemetery originated from the 9th century population of the area.