volved.
Another possibility is that atherosclerosis can be brought on by chronic inflammation caused by a person's immune system responding to infection, which in turn can lead to inflammation of the blood vessel walls.
"The princess was known to have arthritis and inflammation of the joints," Allam noted. "Also, she had severe dental disease, which is another inflammation."
The US-Egyptian research team is undertaking further studies on a total of 72 mummies to investigate the individuals' genetic links, evidence of other health issues including arthritis and cancer, and whether their bones can reveal how active they were.
The team's most recent findings are published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.