Vita gazette – DNA analyses obtained from hair strands of German pianist and composer Ludwig van Beethoven revealed that the famous composer had a predisposition to liver disease and contracted hepatitis B months before his death.

DNA studies conducted on eight strands of hair that German pianist and composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s fans kept as a memento revealed new data regarding the death of the famous composer born in Germany in 1770.

As a result of the genomic data obtained by the research group from Cambridge University, it was revealed that the pianist, known to have died from cirrhosis, was genetically predisposed to liver disease and caught hepatitis B months before his death.

Beginning in his years in Bonn, Germany, the composer suffered from “wretched” gastrointestinal problems, which continued and worsened in Vienna, Austria.

In the summer of 1821, Beethoven had the first of at least two jaundice attacks, a liver disease symptom. Cirrhosis has long been considered the most likely cause of his death at age 56.

The researchers could not find a definitive cause for Beethoven’s deafness or gastrointestinal problems. However, they did discover many significant genetic risk factors for liver disease.

“We can surmise from Beethoven’s ‘conversation books,’ which he used during the last decade of his life, that his alcohol consumption was very regular, although it is difficult to estimate the volumes being consumed,” said study lead author Tristan Begg, from the University of Cambridge.

“While most of his contemporaries claim his consumption was moderate by early 19th century Viennese standards, there is not complete agreement among these sources, and this still likely amounted to quantities of alcohol known today to be harmful to the liver,” Begg said.

Suppose Beethovan’s alcohol consumption was sufficiently heavy over a long enough period. In that case, the researchers said the interaction with his genetic risk factors presents one possible explanation for his cirrhosis.

The team also suggests that Beethoven’s hepatitis B infection might have driven the composer’s severe liver disease, exacerbated by his alcohol intake and genetic risk. Beethoven’s hearing loss has been linked to several potential causes, including diseases with various degrees of genetic contributions.

Investigation of the authenticated hair samples did not reveal a simple genetic origin of the hearing loss, the researchers said.

 The team also analysed the genetics of his living relatives in Belgium but could not find matches among them.

Some share a paternal ancestor with Beethoven in the late 1500s and early 1600s based on genealogical studies, but they did not match the Y-Chromosome found in the authentic hair samples.

The team concluded that this likely resulted from at least one “extra-pair paternity event”—a child resulting from an extramarital relationship—in Beethoven’s direct paternal line.