Neanderthal dental tartar reveals plant-based diet – and drugs

This Neanderthal individual was eating poplar, a source of aspirin, and had also consumed molded vegetation including ‘penicillium fungus,’ source of a natural antibiotic. Photograph: Paleoanthropology Group MNCN-CSIC

Analysis of teeth of Spanish Neanderthals shows diet of pine nuts, mushrooms and moss and indicates possible self-medication for pain and diarrhea

A diet of pine nuts mushrooms and moss might sound like modernist cuisine, but it turns out it was standard fare for Spanish Neanderthals.

Researchers studying the teeth of the heavy-browed hominids have discovered that while Neanderthals in Belgium were chomping on woolly rhinoceros, those further south were surviving on plants and may even have used naturally occurring painkillers to ease toothache.

The findings, the researchers say, are yet another blow to the popular misconception of Neanderthals as brutish simpletons.

“Neanderthals, not surprisingly, are doing different things, exploiting different things, in different places,” said Keith Dobney, a bio-archaeologist and co-author of the research from the University of Liverpool.

Writing in the journal Nature, Dobney and an international team of colleagues describe how they analyzed ancient DNA – from microbes and food debris – preserved in the dental tartar, or calculus, of three Neanderthals dating from 42,000 to 50,000 years ago. Two of the individuals were from the El Sidrón cave in Spain while one was from the Spy Cave in Belgium.



The results reveal that northern Neanderthals had a wide-ranging diet, with evidence of a mushroom known as grey shag in their tartar, together with traces of woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep.

By contrast Neanderthals from El Sidrón showed no evidence of meat eating – instead they appear to have survived on a mixture of forest moss, pine nuts and a mushroom known as split gill.

The difference was further backed up by DNA-based analysis of the diversity and make-up of microbial communities that had lived in the Neanderthals’ mouths.

The findings support previous studies suggesting that the Neanderthals of El Sidrón ate little meat, although Dobney cautioned against drawing broader conclusions, citing the small sample size of the latest study. “I hesitate to say that we have clear, definitive proof that Neanderthals in Spain were vegetarian,” he said.

Indeed, research looking at marks on the bones of Neanderthals from ‘El Sidrón’ has suggested they, might been the victims of cannibalism. While Dobney does not rule out the possibility, he points out that the two Neanderthals in the latest study are unlikely to have been feasting on their relatives.



“You would expect if Neanderthals were eating each other, that the quantity of Neanderthal DNA would be a lot higher in [the tartar] – it would be part of the food debris,” he said. “[That] doesn’t appear to be the case.”

One of the Spanish Neanderthals is known to have had a painful dental abscess, while analysis of the tartar from the same individual yielded evidence of a parasite known to cause diarrhea in humans.

To cope, the researchers add, the unfortunate individual might have been self-medicating. While previous work has suggested the El Sidrón Neanderthals might have exploited yarrow and chamomile, the tartar of the unwell individual shows evidence of poplar, which contains the active ingredient of aspirin, salicylic acid, and a species of ‘penicillium fungus’, suggesting the Neanderthal might have benefited from a natural source of antibiotics.

“Potentially this is evidence of more sophisticated behavior in terms of knowledge of medicinal plants,” said Dobey. “The idea that Neanderthals were a bit simple and just dragging their knuckles around is one that has gone a long time ago, certainly in the anthropological world.”



Dobney believes the new approach could prove valuable in understanding the evolution not only of our diet but also of our microbiota, suggesting similar analysis be carried out on the remains of even earlier hominid relatives. “We can really start to mine this amazing record of our joint evolutionary history with these key microorganisms that are basically part of our lives and keep us alive,” he said.

Chris Stringer, a paleoanthropologist and expert in human origins from the Natural History Museum in London who was not involved in the research, welcomed the study. “It is tremendous work and very exciting,” he said.
But, he warns, the dental tartar might not tell the full story, since it might not preserve all components of a Neanderthal’s diet, nor the proportions in which they were eaten. Contamination from DNA preserved in sediments in the cave must also be considered, he said, while the plant material found in meat-eating Neanderthals might, at least in part, have come from the hominids eating the stomach contents of their prey.

Stringer is also enthusiastic about the revelations around the Neanderthals’ microbiota. “To have that data from inside the mouth of a Neanderthal from 50,000 years ago is astonishing stuff,” he said.
Source: Nicola Davis - The Guardian

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Psychological Therapy or Medication: ADHD and our Children

Children need less medication and more Therapy. Three-quarters of young children with ADHD are receiving medication, but only half are getting therapy

Government health officials are using medical providers to refer parents of preschoolers who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, to therapy sessions rather that turning first to medication.
What is ADHD?

"The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral syndrome, is a disorder characterized by moderate behavior, distraction to severe, periods of brief attention, restlessness, emotional instability and impulsive behaviors. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder most often diagnosed in children, 4 always start in childhood, persists into adulthood in a high percentage of cases and usually causes a very negative impact on multiple areas of operation. Has a very high response to treatment, but is associated with high rates of psychiatry comorbidity.



According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV): "Usually, symptoms worsen in situations that require attention or effort sustained mental or who lack intrinsic appeal or novelty (p. eg., listening to the teacher in class, do homework, listen to or read long texts that are not on your tastes, or work in monotonous or repetitive tasks) ". Historically, this disorder has received different characterizations and innumerable denominations, which makes difficult the consultations of the especializada5 literature (see deficit hyperactivity disorder') is widely used to refer to this syndrome".

The recommendation, issued recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes alongside a dispatch in the agency's monthly report, called Vital Signs, that shows 75 percent of children ages 2 to 5 with ADHD are already taking medication. Among the concerns is that drugs that treat the condition can cause side effects like irritability and difficulty sleeping and can curb hunger, stunting growth. Further, researchers don't know what the long-term effects of these medicines are for children in this group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offered similar guidance in 2011, saying medical providers should refer parents to training in behavior therapy before turning to medication. About a third of the 6.4 million children who have the condition, which causes children to be overly active and impulsive and to have difficulty concentrating, are diagnosed before age 6. At that point, symptoms can be very severe, and only half of the children who are diagnosed are receiving recommended behavioral therapy.



But Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director for the CDC, said in a call with reporters that this type of therapy could be as effective as medication.

“We recognize that these are not easy treatment decisions for parents to make,” she said, alluding to the fact that this type of treatment takes more time that medication.

Behavior therapy programs can occur over the course of eight or more sessions, and therapists teach parents how to give their children their full attention and reflect words back to them so their children know they are listening and care about what they have to say. They learn how to praise their children when they do something right and how to set up and follow routines.

"It's like having your own personal coach for dealing with challenging conditions," Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of the CDC’s division of human development and disability, said during the call.

The Vital Signs report analyzed health care claims data from at least 5 million young children between the ages of 2 and 5 who are insured by Medicaid, which is funded by the government, from 2008 to 2011. It also looks at an additional 1 million who were covered by health insurance that employers pay for, from 2008 to 2014. Though it found the same rates of medication prescriptions among both groups, it found that 54 percent of children on Medicaid received psychological services each year, while 45 percent of children with private plans did.



These numbers did not increase over time, and the different rates, between the two groups likely occurs, because not all private health insurance companies will cover behavioral therapy as Medicaid typically does.

The CDC stopped short of saying that young children should never be medicated for ADHD, adding that decision was for parents and doctors and that medication may sometimes be appropriate. With behavioral therapy, however, it's possible that some children may never need medication for ADHD, Peacock said.

Source: Kimberly Leonard

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