http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12433512Rothschild B, Helbling M 2nd, Miles C.
Spondyloarthropathy in the Jurassic.
Lancet. 2002 Nov 9;360(9344):1454. No abstract available.
PMID: 12433512 Spondyloarthropathy has been recorded from the Paleocene (60 million years ago), on the basis of sacroiliac joint fusion in Barylambda faberi. During a radiological survey for tumours in dinosaurs we found a much older specimen with erosive arthritis. These
Camarasaurus vertebrae found west of Bone Cabin Quarry, Utah were dated at 147 million years old. Zygapophyseal erosions were bilaterally present in four of 20 consecutive caudal vertebrae that were otherwise macroscopically normal. Radiology showed no distortion of vertebral centra or trabecular architecture of the facets. Zygapophyseal joint erosions are caused by spondyloarthropathy or infectious arthritis. Involvement of multiple zyagapophyseal joints and the absence of trabecular pattern distortion rule out an infectious cause. This evidence of spondyloarthropathy identifies it as the oldest form of inflammatory arthritis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9779305Rothschild BM, Sebes JI, Rothschild C.
Antiquity of arthritis: spondyloarthropathy identified in the Paleocene of North America. off.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1998 Sep-Oct;16(5):573-5.
PMID: 9779305
OBJECTIVE: Determination of the antiquity of spondyloarthropathy by examining the fossil record. METHODS: Fossil collections from the
Paleocene and
Eocene of North America were systematically examined to determine the occurrence and population frequency of spondyloarthropathy. RESULTS: Spondyloarthropathy was present in three mammalian orders dated at 30 to 50 million years. The frequency was 13% to 50% in the affected genera. CONCLUSIONS: Erosive arthritis of the spondyloarthropathy variety is now documented to have originated at least 40 million years ago in the Paleocene.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11791632Rothschild BM, Prothero DR, Rothschild C.
Origins of spondyloarthropathy in Perissodactyla.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2001 Nov-Dec;19(6):628-32.
PMID: 11791632
OBJECTIVE: Spondyloarthropathy has clearly been documented as not limited in occurrence to humans. Transmammalian in nature, it is of interest to understand the antiquity, and perhaps the origins, of this disorder in animal groups sufficiently represented in the skeletal record. METHODS: Fossil and recent skeletons of
perissodactylae* from North America were systematically examined to determine the occurrence and population frequency of spondyloarthropathy. RESULTS: Spondyloarthropathy was the most common form of arthritis recognized in the extant and fossil records. Common in extinct families such as
Brontotheriidae and
Chalicotheriidae, a progressive increase in the frequency of spondyloarthropathy was observed through geologic time in
Equidaeand
Rhinocerotidae. CONCLUSION: Erosive arthritis of the spondyloarthropathy variety is now documented as not only persisting in Perissodactyla, but as actually increasing significantly in frequency (3-6 fold). Given the unusual evolutionary penetrance of this "disease," the possibility must be considered that its persistence provides evidence for some unknown benefit to the affected host.
*For those (including me) who did not know what perissodactyla are: this order includes horses, zebras, rhinoceri, tapirs and a lot of related extinct forms as well
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3103404&dopt=AbstractBjorkengren AG, Sartoris DJ, Shermis S, Resnick D.
Patterns of paravertebral ossification in the prehistoric saber-toothed cat.
AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1987 Apr;148(4):779-82.
PMID: 3103404
"The spinal alterations in.the saber-toothed cat, which previously were believed to be caused primarily by trauma, showed characteristics of three major pathologic processes: trauma, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, and inflammatory disease of a type similar to ankylosing spondylitis."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9809598Rothschild BM, Rothschild C, Woods RJ.
Inflammatory arthritis in large cats: an expanded spectrum of spondyloarthropathy.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 1998 Sep;29(3):279-84.
PMID: 9809598
Spondyloarthropathy was documented for the first time in 14 (3.7%) of 386 large cats, affecting eight species belonging to three genera. The limited distribution of joint erosions, associated with spine and sacroiliac joint pathology, was indistinguishable from that occurring in humans with spondyloarthropathy of the reactive type. This form of inflammatory arthritis is almost twice as common as osteoarthritis (for felids as a whole), and animal well-being may be enhanced by its recognition and by initiation of specific treatment.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12790395Rothschild BM, Rothschild C, Woods RJ.
Inflammatory arthritis in canids: spondyloarthropathy.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2001 Mar;32(1):58-64.
PMID: 12790395
Spondyloarthropathy was observed in 25 (2.8%) of 895 preserved canid
* museum specimens and was catalogued by species. The associated skeletal alterations in canids are indistinguishable grossly and physiologically from those in humans with spondyloarthropathy of the reactive type. Rate of affliction was independent of captive or wild-caught status or gender. In canids, spondyloarthropathy was much more common than osteoarthritis (0.3%), which predominantly is limited to captive animals. Animal well-being may be enhanced by recognition of the condition and initiation of specific treatment.
*canid= foxes, wolves, dogs, jackals, and coyotes
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1604326Rothschild BM, Woods RJ.
Spondyloarthropathy as an Old World phenomenon.
Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1992 Apr;21(5):306-16.
PMID: 1604326
The presence of spine and sacroiliac involvement and the nature and distribution of erosive lesions allowed definitive diagnosis of spondyloarthropathy in the great apes (Gorilla and Pan [chimpanzee]), the lesser ape (Hylobates), and Old World monkeys (Theropithecus, Papio, Cercopithecus, Macaca, Colobus, Presbytis, and Erythrocebus). Analysis of lesional character, distribution, radiological appearance, and sex ratios showed a picture indistinguishable from human spondyloarthropathy. …Limited individual susceptibility to spondyloarthropathy in humans (1% to 4%), Old World monkeys (2.4%), and lesser apes (2.4%) contrasts with the high frequency of disease in the great apes (20% to 28%). The wide geographic distribution of this phenomenon suggests an African and perhaps Asian "panendemic." This natural disease state provides a unique model for in-depth analysis of the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to disease pathophysiology.
Edited by Evelyn on 04/29/04 12:57 PM (server time).
