Wednesday, October 30, 2013

One of the oldest cases of tuberculosis is discovered

One of the oldest cases of tuberculosis is discovered


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30-Oct-2013



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Contact: Kallie Huss
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415-568-3162
Public Library of Science



Scientists verify the presence of tuberculosis from 7,000 years ago



Tuberculosis was present in Europe as early as 7000 years ago, according to new research published October 30th in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, by Muriel Masson and colleagues at the University of Szeged.


A disease called Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteopathy is characterized by symmetrical new bone formations on the long bones. Based on the archaeological record, it has been suggested that tuberculosis might have caused HPO thousands of years ago. HPO is a rare find in the archaeological record, making it difficult to verify this hypothesis.


In this study, the authors examined seventy-one human skeletons from a 7000-year-old site in the south of Hungary. They found numerous cases of infections and metabolic diseases, and some skeletons showed signs of HPO and therefore potentially tuberculosis. They focused on one skeleton in particular to verify this hypothesis, and analyzed the ancient DNA and lipids from its bones to do so. Both tests confirmed the presence of the bacterial complex associated with tuberculosis.


This is one of the earliest known cases of HPO and tuberculosis to date, and helps shed new light on this European community in prehistoric times. Masson adds, "This is a crucial find from a fantastic site. It is not only the earliest occurrence of fully-developed HPO on an adult skeleton to date, but also clearly establishes the presence of Tuberculosis in Europe 7000 years ago."


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Citation: Masson M, Molnr E, Donoghue HD, Besra GS, Minnikin DE, et al. (2013) Osteological and Biomolecular Evidence of a 7000-Year Old Case of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteopathy Secondary to Tuberculosis from Neolithic Hungary. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78252. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078252


Financial Disclosure: The study was supported by Leverhulme Trust Project Grant F/00 094/BL (GSB, DEM, OY-CL, HHTW). The United Kingdom National Environmental Research Council provided funding for the mass spectrometry facilities at Bristol (Contract no. R8/H12/15; http://www.lsmsf.co.uk). Additionally funding was provided by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund Grant no. 78555. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.


PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078252


Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.


About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.


All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately availableto read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise usewithout cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.




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One of the oldest cases of tuberculosis is discovered


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Oct-2013



[


| E-mail

]


Share Share

Contact: Kallie Huss
onepress@plos.org
415-568-3162
Public Library of Science



Scientists verify the presence of tuberculosis from 7,000 years ago



Tuberculosis was present in Europe as early as 7000 years ago, according to new research published October 30th in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, by Muriel Masson and colleagues at the University of Szeged.


A disease called Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteopathy is characterized by symmetrical new bone formations on the long bones. Based on the archaeological record, it has been suggested that tuberculosis might have caused HPO thousands of years ago. HPO is a rare find in the archaeological record, making it difficult to verify this hypothesis.


In this study, the authors examined seventy-one human skeletons from a 7000-year-old site in the south of Hungary. They found numerous cases of infections and metabolic diseases, and some skeletons showed signs of HPO and therefore potentially tuberculosis. They focused on one skeleton in particular to verify this hypothesis, and analyzed the ancient DNA and lipids from its bones to do so. Both tests confirmed the presence of the bacterial complex associated with tuberculosis.


This is one of the earliest known cases of HPO and tuberculosis to date, and helps shed new light on this European community in prehistoric times. Masson adds, "This is a crucial find from a fantastic site. It is not only the earliest occurrence of fully-developed HPO on an adult skeleton to date, but also clearly establishes the presence of Tuberculosis in Europe 7000 years ago."


###

Citation: Masson M, Molnr E, Donoghue HD, Besra GS, Minnikin DE, et al. (2013) Osteological and Biomolecular Evidence of a 7000-Year Old Case of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteopathy Secondary to Tuberculosis from Neolithic Hungary. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78252. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078252


Financial Disclosure: The study was supported by Leverhulme Trust Project Grant F/00 094/BL (GSB, DEM, OY-CL, HHTW). The United Kingdom National Environmental Research Council provided funding for the mass spectrometry facilities at Bristol (Contract no. R8/H12/15; http://www.lsmsf.co.uk). Additionally funding was provided by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund Grant no. 78555. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.


PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078252


Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.


About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.


All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately availableto read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise usewithout cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.




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]

 


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.




Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/plos-oot102913.php
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