An international team of researchers studied tufts of his hair Ludwig van Beethoven and using DNA, he was able to analyze his genome, first determining which of the hairs actually belonged to the composer and which were fakes.
High levels of lead, arsenic and mercury detected in tufts of Beethoven’s hair indicate lead poisoning, which may have contributed to the ailments he suffered from during his lifetime – including deafness – according to new research, the results of of which were published in the journal Clinical Chemistry.
Beethoven is believed to have died of liver and kidney disease aged 56. However, clearly understanding the causes that caused his many and serious health problems turned out to be a chronic, much more complex puzzle for scientists.
Even the composer himself had expressed his wish that at some point science would be able to solve this riddle, asking in his “testament” that his ailments be studied and made known “so that at least the world can understand me and be reconciled with me after my death.”
The major findings of the ten-year study were published in 2023 and revealed that the famous composer had significant genetic risk factors for liver disease and hepatitis B infection before his death.
However, the results did not provide evidence for the gastrointestinal problems he was experiencing or the deeper causes of his deafness, which he developed in his 20s. The study continues, constantly revealing new evidence. In the latest investigation, particularly high concentrations of lead were found in two certified Beethoven tufts.
Specifically, 64 times higher than normal levels were detected in the Bermann lock (estimated to have been obtained from the end of 1820 to March 1827) and 95 times in the Halm-Thayer lock (hairs that the Beethoven had personally given to the pianist Anton Halm in April 1826).
“These levels are considered lead poisoning,” notes lead study author Nader Rifai, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and director of clinical chemistry at Children’s Hospital Boston. “If you go to any emergency department in the United States with these lead levels, you will be admitted immediately and given chelation treatment,” he stressed.
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