An anomaly of the skull, which compresses the bottom of the brain and is thought to be part of the genetic inheritance left by neanderthals, often causes headaches and other neurological problems.
People with Chiari malformations They have a smaller and smaller skull base in the area where it binds to the spine.
As a result, part of the brain – the Cerebellum – is crushed on the spinal canal of the neck.
As it refers to, it is thought that the chiari malformations of type 1, the most light form, affect about 1 in 100 people.
May cause symptoms such as headachesneck pain, sleep apnea and numbness, but some people never show signs.
About 15 years ago, Yvens Barbosa Fernandesneurosurgeon of the State University of Campinas, Brazil, noticed that the base of the skulls of its patients with Chiari if resembled those of Neanderthal specimensespecially in the slight inclination of the occipital bone, where the cerebellum rests.
In 2013, Barbosa Fernandes a hypothesis that proposed that the shape of Chiari’s skull could have been inherited from extinct humans who crossed with Homo Sapiens.
Inspired by this suggestion, in a study last week in the Evolution, Medicine, and Public Healthscientists at the University of the Diliman Filipines, in Quezon City, built 46 -person 3D 3D digital models with Type 1 and 57 without Chiari, based on their computed tomography.
The math analyzes detailed confirmed that Chiari -affected skulls had a smaller occipital bone with a faster angle, and more brain compression at the base of the skull, where the cerebellum is located.
Then the team examined the comparison of these modern skulls with digital models of eight fossil head Homo Neanderthalensis, Man alert, Man Heidelbergensis e Homo sapiens old.
Found that the bases of the skull of head neanderthais had measures notably similar to those of modern humans with Chiariwhile all other ancient cranial bases resembled those of modern humans without Chiari.
3D models of the skulls of a modern human and a Neanderthal
“This emphasizes the idea that these are traces of the Neanderthal and not just primitive traits. It seems that this is another way that the Neanderthal genes can be influence our health and, in this case, negatively“, Explained, the investigation leader, Kimberly plompin New Scientist.
For Barbosa Fernandes, the study provides strong evidence that supports his theory.
“It makes sense: If there is less angle, there is less room for the modern human brain. I had no science to prove my hypothesis. This article is a big step towards this proof,” Barbosa Fernandes told the same magazine.
