Miklós Kásler - Zoltán Szentirmay (szerk.): Identifying the Árpád Dynasty Skeletons Interred in the Matthias Church. Applying data from historical, archaeological, anthropological, radiological, morphological, radiocarbon dating and genetic research (Budapest, 2021)
CHAPTER FOUR – Palaeopathological investigations
It has often been observed on the spine of ancient Neanderthals (which lived 300,000 - 20,000 years before our time). Waldron (1985) published a report in the British Medical Journal on investigating the remains of monks from the Augustinian priory at Merton (operated between 1140-1540). In the publications title, he referred to Forestiers disease as being so common among monks that he would consider it a “new occupational disease”. Janssen et al. (1999) compared the materials of a cloister graveyard and a civil cemetery. All of the skeletons in the graveyard that died between the age of 43 and 75 showed signs of DISH (Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis, Forestiers disease), but the graveyard which contained skeletons of peasants and merchants not a single find with Forestiers disease was made. The knowledge we have gained since the publication of the quotes above point to the role of genetic factors (such as the cumulative incidence within the Medici family), as well as environmental dietary factors (Fornaciari-Giuffra 2013). Our knowledge of Forestiers disease, however, is still limited. Some pathogenetic knowledge we took from analogous entities, such as the ligamentum longitudinale posterior (OPLL) (Mader et al. 2017). According to the basic concept the growth factors, such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, transforming grown factor-ßl, platelet-derived growth factor-BB, prostaglandin E1/E2 and the overproduction of endothelin-1 are the main causes of the disease, which could cause mesenchymal cells to transform into fibrolasts and osteoblasts. On the other hand, we could perhaps take into account the inhibition of bone-promoting peptides such as the matrix Gia protein, bone morphonegenic protein-2 or Dickkopf-1. Most recently, while conducting investigations 99
