Leslie Quade , Miroslav Králík , Petra Bencúrová , Erin C. Dunn
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that is regularly assessed in modern human and non-human populations in saliva, blood, and hair as a measure of stress exposure and stress reactivity. While recent research has detected cortisol concentrations in modern and archaeological permanent dental tissues, the present study assessed human primary (deciduous) teeth for cortisol concentrations.
Materials and Methods
Fifty-one dentine and enamel samples from nine modern and 10 archaeological deciduous teeth were analyzed for cortisol concentrations via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results
Detectable concentrations of cortisol were identified in 15 (of 32) dentine and 8 (of 19) enamel samples coming from modern and archaeological deciduous teeth.
Conclusions
This study is the first known analysis of cortisol from deciduous dental tissues, demonstrating the potential to identify measurable concentrations.
Significance
The ability to analyze deciduous teeth is integral to developing dental cortisol methods with multiple potential future applications, including research on the biological embedding of stress in the skeleton. This study marks a key step in a larger research program to study stress in primary dentition from living and archaeological populations.
Limitations
Multiple samples generated cortisol values that were not detectable with ELISA. Minimum quantities of tissue may be required to generate detectable levels of cortisol.
Suggestions for Further Research
Future research should include larger sample sizes and consideration of intrinsic biological and extrinsic preservation factors on dental cortisol. Further method validation and alternative methods for assessing dental cortisol are needed.
期刊介绍:
Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.