No evidence of arthritis in Egyptian mummies

Researchers have disputed the claim that ancient Egyptian royal families suffered from the systemic disease ankylosing spondylitis, which causes inflammation of the spinal joints. Conducted by Dr Sahar Saleem and Dr Zahi Hawass, the study has been published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a member of a group of inflammatory conditions called the spondyloarthropathies, which cause arthritis. Ankylosing spondylitis causes pain and stiffness in the back and may lead to bony fusion of the spine. Previous research using X-ray images claimed that three Pharaohs (Amenhotep II, Ramesses II and his son Merenptah) displayed evidence of the disease.

The researchers utilised computed tomography (CT) - a more sophisticated kind of imaging technology - to study 13 royal Egyptian mummies from the 18th to early 20th Dynasties (1492-1153 BC) and correlated their findings with the archaeology literature. They said their results “excluded the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis” due to the absence of joint erosion in the lower back and pelvis area (sacroiliac joints) or fusion of sacroiliac joints or of small joints between the vertebra in the spine (facet joints).

However, the researchers did find evidence of a degenerative spinal condition called diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in four Pharaohs - Amenhotep III, Ramesses II, Merenptah and Ramesses III. In DISH, the hardening of ligaments along the vertebrae of the spine cause stiffness in the upper back and can affect other joints in the body. Unlike ankylosing spondylitis it is a degenerative and not an inflammatory type of arthritis, affecting those 60 years of age and older. It thus correlates with the long and active lives led by these Pharaohs, the researchers said.

The authors concluded that Ancient Egyptian mummies “offer a wealth of information regarding the history of disease” and may enable us to “uncover the pathway of diseases - like ankylosing spondylitis or DISH - and how they might impact modern populations”. However, they also acknowledge that the process of mummification “may induce changes in the spine that should be considered during investigations of mummy diseases”.

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