New DNA analysis has uncovered evidence of a disease that continues to haunt humanity to this day, exonerating the personal physician of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
A few years ago, a team of scientists analyzed a sample of Beethoven’s hair and revealed what many referred to as a “shocking secret” about his death: they suggested that the composer died from lead poisoning, due to the mismanagement of his personal doctor during treatment. However, new research has proven the opposite.
According to Live Science, more specific genetic analysis of five locks of Beethoven’s hair found evidence that he had hepatitis B, a disease that still causes suffering for many people in modern times.
Portrait of the genius composer Beethoven – (Painting: Artist Joseph Karl Stieler, 1802).
This also helps to explain in more detail the health issues the composer faced in his later years. The hypothesis of lead poisoning previously could not clarify the reason why Beethoven became deaf.
The recent assertion was made in a publication in the scientific journal Current Biology.
“We cannot say for sure what caused Beethoven’s death, but at least we confirm the presence of significant genetic risk factors and the condition of hepatitis B infection. We also rule out some less plausible causes,” said co-author Johannes Krause, a professor of genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.
The genetic factors believed to have worsened the composer’s poor health include hemochromatosis, which is characterized by excessive iron accumulation leading to liver disorders, cardiomyopathy, diabetes, and more. Additionally, the composer had a history of alcohol abuse.
Combined with the hepatitis B virus, all of this could have formed a death sentence for him.
The composer, born in 1770, began losing his hearing in his mid-20s to early 30s, eventually becoming completely deaf by his late 40s. He also suffered from severe digestive issues, undergoing at least two bouts of jaundice… symptoms that pointed directly to liver disease.
In 1802, when his condition became very serious, Beethoven asked his friend, Dr. Johann Adam Schmidt, to examine and publicly diagnose his illness. However, Dr. Schmidt passed away 18 years before Beethoven, so he was treated by other physicians afterward.
After Beethoven’s death in 1827, an autopsy revealed that he had severe cirrhosis of the liver.
