CT Scanner Helps Detect Arterial Disease in Egyptian Mummies

Computed tomography (CT) scans of 3,500-year-old mummies are helping to provide insights into the long history of atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, more typically known as arterial clogging, is the most widespread disease in most countries. In a recent presentation at the scientific sessions of the American Heart Association meeting held December 2009 in Orlando, FL, USA, an international research team has documented that the people of antiquity suffered from clogged arteries, as well. With the use of Somatom Emotion 6 computed tomography (CT) scanner from Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany), the investigators discovered the atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies as old as 3,500 years.

For four days, the team of cardiologists examined 20 mummies from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo under the guidance of the Dr. Gregory Thomas and Dr. Adel Allam, coprincipal investigators on the study. Two previously scanned mummies (same conditions, same purpose) were additionally included into the analysis. They worked in conjunction with an expert Egyptian archeology team. The researchers wanted to know if people living in antiquity had healthier vessels than humans do today. One important requirement was that the study subjects could not be injured during the examination. For this reason, Siemens sponsored the study and supported image pre-processing with onsite technical consultancy. Due to its size, the scanner could be put in a trailer, placed right next to the Cairo Museum, which made for smooth and easy logistics.

The researchers concentrated on the use of radiography of arterial vessels. In contemporary humans, blood lipids frequently accumulate in these vessels leading to a blockage of the blood flow. To their amazement they found that 9 of the 16 mummies in which they were able to identify blood vessels had calcium deposits in their artery walls, suggesting that they suffered from arterial clogging, a disease that can cause heart attacks and strokes. Atherosclerosis did not spare women. Vascular calcifications were observed in both male and female mummies. The individuals lived between 1570 BCE and 364 CE. For the ones that identity could be determined, which was most, all enjoyed elevated social status.

"We combined the science which they developed 3,500 years ago with the 21st century technology of a high precision instrument, the Siemens Somatom Emotion 6-slice configuration CT scanner, and were able to learn about health and disease across the ages,” said Dr. Randall Thompson, professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine (USA). "The mummies have portions of the cardiovascular system intact, which were clearly recognizable. On these CT scans, the atherosclerosis looks just like it does in my modern-day patients. The technology allowed us to discover that this disease has afflicted humans since before the time of Moses and is giving us insights into modern human health. We are able to achieve these insights without disturbing the remains of these people who walked the earth such a long time ago.

Dr. Samuel Wann (Wisconsin Heart Hospital, Wauwatosa, USA) and Dr. Michael Miyamoto (University of California, San Diego, USA) completed the cardiology team. The archeology team was led by Dr. Abd el-Halim Nur el-Din (Cairo University) with Dr. Gomaa Abd el-Maksoud (Cairo University) and Dr. Ibrahem Badr, (Institute of Restoration, Alexandria, Egypt). Dr. Hany Abd el-Amer (National Research Center, Giza) and Dr. Jennifer Thomas (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA) provided CT scanning and statistical support, respectively.

"While we do not know whether atherosclerosis caused the demise of any of the mummies in the study, we can confirm that the disease was present in many. It obviously was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socioeconomic status living as much as 3,500 years ago,” said Dr. Thomas, a clinical professor of cardiology at the University of California Irvine (USA). "The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease.”

Study results appeared in the November 18, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and were presented at the Scientific Session of the American Heart Association.

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University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
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