A probable case of rheumatoid arthritis from the middle Anglo-Saxon period

Katie Mckinnon; Melanie S Van Twest; Martin Hatton

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2013.03.006

A probable case of rheumatoid arthritis from the middle Anglo-Saxon period

Int J Paleopathol. 2013 Jun;3(2):122-127. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 May 8.

Authors

Katie Mckinnon¹, Melanie S Van Twest², Martin Hatton³

Affiliations

¹ Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, Old Village Hall, Sedgeford, Hunstanton PE36 5LS, UK. Electronic address: katie_may_mckinnon@hotmail.com.
² Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, Old Village Hall, Sedgeford, Hunstanton PE36 5LS, UK. Electronic address: drmvantwest@yahoo.com.au.
³ Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, Old Village Hall, Sedgeford, Hunstanton PE36 5LS, UK. Electronic address: hattonmt@aol.com.

PMID: 29539311
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2013.03.006

Abstract

We present here a case of erosive polyarthropathy in an incomplete skeleton from a middle-Saxon period (c. AD 650-900) cemetery site in Sedgeford, Norfolk, England. After a differential diagnosis that includes erosive osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis, we believe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to be the most probable cause. This example may therefore add to the evidence for an early date for the appearance of RA in Europe.

Keywords: AS; Anglo-Saxon; DIP; Erosive arthropathy; MTP; OA; PIP; PsA; RA; ReA; Rheumatoid arthritis; SIJ; Sedgeford; SpA; ankylosing spondylitis; distal interphalangeal joint; metatarsophalangeal joint; osteoarthritis; proximal interphalangeal joint; psoriatic arthritis; reactive arthropathy; rheumatoid arthritis; sacroiliac joint; spondyloarthropathy.