Ludwig van Beethoven painted by Joseph Karl Stieler.
The death of what is considered one of the greatest composers of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven, is shrouded in mystery.
The musician died in 1827, the victim of what was thought to have been a pneumonia, contracted during a harsh winter that hit Austria. Beethoven still had liver and intestinal complications before death.
However, there are several theories to explain his true cause of death. Some experts speak of a possible alcoholic cirrhosis, while others mention syphilis, infectious hepatitis, sarcoidosis It is Whipple’s disease as possible causes.
In 2005, an analysis of cranial fragments of the famous composer indicated that he had died a victim of lead poisoning. The tests confirmed previous analyzes carried out on Beethoven’s hair, which revealed a strong concentration of lead in his system.
“The presence of lead in the bone fragments of the skull also indicates that his lead poisoning was not recent, but lasted for many years”, highlighted the scientists, at the time, stating that “there is no doubt” that he had died from poisoning.
Possible lead poisoning would have been caused by excessive doses consumed during treatments prescribed by your doctor.
A new study now suggests what may have contributed to his death after scientists sequence your entire genome from your hair. Before and after the composer’s death, friends cut locks of his hair and preserved them.
The scientists wanted to shed light on Beethoven’s health problems, which include progressive hearing loss in his early 20s that eventually caused him to go deaf in 1818.
“We could not find a definitive cause for Beethoven’s deafness or gastrointestinal problems. However, we found several significant genetic risk factors for liver disease”said Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in a statement cited by EurekAlert.
The study was published this Wednesday in the renowned scientific journal Current Biology.
“We also found evidence of a hepatitis B virus infection, at the latest, months before the composer’s final illness. These (problems) likely contributed to his death,” added Krause.
According to the IFLSciencethe study also suggests a extramarital “event” in the van Beethoven family. This is because the artist’s Y chromosome does not match that of his known modern relatives.
It was from his father, Johann, that Ludwig received his first music lessons. From the age of five, his father forced him to study music daily, for several hours. Johann was an alcoholic, leading little Ludwig to have an unhappy childhood, according to historical records.
Daniel Costa, ZAP // 
