A new approach for the diagnosis of b-thalassemia in archaeological contexts: the relationship between congenital anaemia and dentinogenesis defects through micro-CT

Abstract

The application of radiology as an aid for paleoanthropological analyses is seeing a widespread increase. The aim of this study is to examine a number of radiological dental aspects related to hereditary haemoglobinopathies, such as b-thalassemia, on the human remains of a past community by way of micro-CT. A sample from the early medieval (10th-11th century) archaeological site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto), located in an area historically affected by malaria and part of the nEU-Med Advanced ERC project, was selected. Macroscopic paleopathological analysis revealed features typical of b-thalassemia. As a result, the skeletal remains underwent CT and micro-CT examination. CT analysis of the ribs, as demonstrated in previous studies, confirmed the initial hypothesis of the presence of b-thalassemia in the group. The dental micro-CT carried out on a sample of 7 deciduous incisors belonging to 7 sub-adult individuals allowed observing for the first time a direct relationship between the degrees of b-thalassemia recorded on the skeletons and dentinogenesis defects, identifying also a new radiological evidence which will be termed as «iris-like» appearance. A sample of three individuals from a coeval, non-thalassemic community was used for comparative purposes. These observations constitute a new approach to the diagnosis of b-thalassemia in archaeological contexts, providing an additional tool for differential diagnoses while also furthering our knowledge of the natural history of this disease.