Ludwig van Beethoven, 1819, von Joseph Karl Stieler
An authenticated lock of hair from Ludwig van Beethoven known as the ‘Moscheles Lock’ was used for a DNA analysis of the composer’s health problems by the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital of Bonn, Germany. The aim was to explain the causes of the German composer’s death in 1827, at the age of 56. Liver failure, or cirrhosis, was the likely cause of Beethoven’s death brought about by a number of factors, including his alcohol consumption, the scientists said.
In an interview with AP, Markus Nothen of the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital of Bonn, one of the co-authors, said: « We looked at possible genetic causes of his three main symptom complexes — the progressive hearing loss, the gastrointestinal symptoms and the liver disease ultimately leading to his death due to liver failure. » Beethoven had « a strong genetic disposition to liver disease » and sequences of the hepatitis B virus were detected in his hair.
The authors of the study, published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on Wednesday, were unable to determine any genetic causes for the progressive hearing loss that eventually left Beethoven completely deaf by 1818.
