Heart disease present in ancient mummies
The mummified remains had signs of heart
disease
Fatty arteries may not just be a
curse of modern unhealthy lifestyles, say researchers who used scans to look at
the heart health of mummies.
A study in The Lancet of 137 mummies up to 4,000 years old found a third had signs of atherosclerosis.
Most people associate the disease, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, with modern lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity.
But the findings may suggest a more basic human pre-disposition.
Previous studies have uncovered atherosclerosis in a significant number of Egyptian mummies but it had been speculated that they would have come from a higher social class and may have had luxurious diets high in saturated fat “Start Quote
End Quote Maureen Talbot Senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart FoundationWe can't change the past, but lifestyle choices can help to affect our future”
To try and get a better picture of how prevalent the
disease was in ancient populations, the researchers used CT scans to look at
mummies from Egypt, Peru, southwest America, and the Aleutian Islands in
Alaska.
They found that 47 or 34% showed signs of definite or probably atherosclerosis.
Where the mummies' arterial structure had survived, the researchers were able to attribute a definite case of atherosclerosis by looking for the tell-tale signs of vascular calcification.
In some cases, the arterial structure had not survived but the calcified deposits were still present in sites where arteries would have once been.
Age-related
As with modern populations, they found that older people seemed to be more likely to show signs of the disease.
CT scans revealed the tell-tale signs The researchers said the results were striking because they had been able to look at the disease in people living in disparate global regions, with different lifestyles and at different times.
Study leader Professor Randall Thompson, of Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, said: "The fact that we found similar levels of atherosclerosis in all of the different cultures we studied, all of whom had very different lifestyles and diets, suggests that atherosclerosis may have been far more common in the ancient world than previously thought.
"Furthermore, the mummies we studied from outside Egypt were produced naturally as a result of local climate conditions, meaning that it's reasonable to assume that these mummies represent a reasonable cross-section of the population, rather than the specially selected elite group of people who were selected for mummification in ancient Egypt."
He said it is commonly thought that if modern humans could emulate pre-industrial or even pre-agricultural lifestyles, that atherosclerosis would be avoided.
"Our findings seem to cast doubt on that assumption, and at the very least, we think they suggest that our understanding of the causes of atherosclerosis is incomplete, and that it might be somehow inherent to the process of human ageing."
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This small study takes us back in time to give an insight into the heart health of people in the ancient world.
"However, we simply don't know enough about the diet and lifestyle of the people studied to say whether behaviour or genetics lies at the root of the heart problems observed.
"We can't change the past, but lifestyle choices can help to affect our future.
"By eating well, quitting smoking and keeping active, you can help to protect your heart."
Threat to measles elimination plans
Measles causes high fever, a rash and can be
fatal.
Outbreaks of measles are putting
Europe's commitment to eliminate the disease by 2015 under threat, the World
Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Levels of vaccination have been too low in some countries, particularly in rich western European nations.
It says catch-up vaccination campaigns, such as the one launched in the UK, are needed across the continent.
Experts said it was not too late to hit the target, but "extraordinary" effort was needed.
It is theoretically possible to eradicate measles from the planet in the same way smallpox was defeated in 1980.
The 53 nations which form the WHO's European region, from Portugal to Uzbekistan, have pledged to stop the disease spreading on the continent.
However, there are high numbers of cases in the UK, Turkey, Ukraine and Romania. These follow outbreaks in Italy and France in previous years.
Robb Butler, the technical officer for WHO Europe's vaccination team, told the BBC: "It's too early to say the 2015 goal is not achievable, but it is certainly under threat, we would be fools to think it is not under threat."
End Quote Dr Pier Luigi Lopalco European Centre for Disease Prevention and ControlOne thing is clear, if we continue to do the same as we did last year we will not reach the goal”
Two doses of the MMR vaccine give almost total
protection against measles. It is a highly infectious disease, however, if 95%
of people are fully immunised it should stop the virus spreading.
Some countries fall short of this target and even in countries with high uptake there are pockets of unvaccinated people.
Claims of a link between the vaccine and autism in 1998, which have since been completely discredited, damaged uptake figures - particularly in the UK.
Dr Pier Luigi Lopalco, the head of vaccine preventable diseases at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said "that story survives" and keeps cropping up across Europe.
He said: "Another problem is the acceptability of vaccination by a part of the population that is becoming larger and larger.
"I'm talking about middle class people that more and more are sceptical towards vaccination and accepting alternative remedies instead."
Continue reading the main story
Smallpox is the ultimate poster-child for vaccination.
More than 300 million people were thought to have died from smallpox in the 20th Century alone.
The disease once killed 30% of those infected, but after an intense global vaccination campaign it was declared eradicated in 1980.
Measles is a tougher proposition as it is more infectious than smallpox, which means you have to vaccinate a higher percentage of the world's population.
However, lessons from polio show that the achievements from smallpox are not easy to repeat.
In 1988 the World Health Assembly set a target of eradicating polio by 2000.
Even now, polio is stubbornly clinging on in a handful of countries.
In theory measles could be completely eradicated, but it is still a very distant prospect.
Analysis
More than 300 million people were thought to have died from smallpox in the 20th Century alone.
The disease once killed 30% of those infected, but after an intense global vaccination campaign it was declared eradicated in 1980.
Measles is a tougher proposition as it is more infectious than smallpox, which means you have to vaccinate a higher percentage of the world's population.
However, lessons from polio show that the achievements from smallpox are not easy to repeat.
In 1988 the World Health Assembly set a target of eradicating polio by 2000.
Even now, polio is stubbornly clinging on in a handful of countries.
In theory measles could be completely eradicated, but it is still a very distant prospect.
Some countries are on target, particularly in
Scandinavia and parts of central and eastern Europe. The Ministry of Health in
Slovakia said it has not had a case among its own residents since 1998, with
cases coming only from abroad.
But across the 53 countries, Dr Lopalco said it would be difficult to reach the target.
He said: "One thing is clear, if we continue to do the same as we did last year we will not reach the goal. We will not do it if we do not put in place extraordinary measures - large catch-up campaigns."
In response to epidemics in the UK, a large vaccination campaign has been launched to target more than one million schoolchildren who have not had their two doses of MMR.
Mr Butler, at the WHO, said other countries needed to act before they had outbreaks.
"At the European level we would like to see more member states doing what the UK are doing right now - going out and vaccinating adolescents and younger adults."
He argues that even countries with 97% uptake of the vaccine still have pockets of unvaccinated people so some form of catch-up campaign would be needed.
"I honestly believe most member states need to consider it as one of the best alternatives to seeing increased cases and outbreaks in the future."
Dr David Elliman, an immunisation expert at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK, said the 2015 target was in danger.
"I think it is very difficult because we are talking about a very infectious disease so it is not like smallpox where uptake of the vaccine could be much lower and you would still be able to eradicate it.
"Unfortunately I think 2015 is very, very optimistic. It is possible, but I think two years hence, I would be surprised.
Kidney disease 'biggest threat' for diabetics
Kidney disease can be a complication arising from
diabetes
Keeping your kidneys healthy could be
one of the best ways to extend your life if you have Type 2 diabetes,
researchers have suggested.
The University of Washington study found that having kidney disease meant a much higher risk of early death.
UK experts say that the NHS is still not putting enough effort into detecting and controlling kidney problems caused by diabetes.
Figures from 2012 suggest only seven in 10 patients get vital annual checks.
Approximately 5% of people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes, and careful management of their condition through a combination of medication and lifestyle changes can mean it has relatively little impact on their lives.
However, if the disease has been present for some time prior to diagnosis, or is poorly managed afterwards, the risk of life-changing complications rises.
These include eye and lower limb problems, and kidney problems.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
End Quote Cathy Moulton Diabetes UKThere really is no excuse for this - there is clear guidance saying that kidney function should be tested.”
The research, in the Journal of the American Society of
Nephrology, looked at mortality rates over a 10-year period in more than
15,000 adults, with and without diabetes.
Kidney disease was present in 9.4% of the people without diabetes, and 42.3% of those with diabetes.
They found that 7.7% of those without diabetes or kidney disease died over the course of the decade-long study.
This rose to 11.5% for people with diabetes but no kidney disease, but soared to 31.1% for people with diabetes and kidney disease.
'No excuse'
Lead researcher Dr Maryam Afkarian said: "People with type-two diabetes have many other risk factors for cardiovascular disease and mortality, so we expected that kidney disease would predict a part, but not a majority, of higher mortality."
Singling this group of patients out for intensive treatment, or working harder to prevent kidney disease from taking hold, could be a powerful way of reducing deaths among people with diabetes, she added.
Cathy Moulton, a clinical adviser at Diabetes UK, said that if detected early, diabetic kidney disease could be controlled using blood pressure medication.
However, the charity's 2012 report found that as many as three in 10 patients were missing out the simple blood or urine tests that would reveal their kidney problems.
She said: "There really is no excuse for this - there is clear guidance saying that kidney function should be tested.
"Very often the doctor will be taking blood for other purposes, such as checking cholesterol levels, so it is the easiest thing in the world to do."
Kidney failure would cost the NHS thousands more in expensive dialysis treatments, she added.
Diabetes UK has compiled a list of 15 "healthcare essentials" that it says every patient with the disease should read and ensure they are receiving from the NHS.
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