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Beethoven’s cause of death revealed from locks of hair

Genetic sleuthing points to liver disease, viral hepatitis and alcohol consumption as causes of the composer’s demise.
  1. Dyani Lewis
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In the autumn of 1802, some 25 years before his death, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers. The famous composer, distraught about his encroaching loss of hearing, implored them to seek out his physician after his death and “beg him in my name to describe my malady”.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00846-z

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 28 March 2023: An earlier version of this story didn't note that the authenticity of the skull portion attributed to Beethoven is contested.

References

  1. Begg, T. J. A. et al. Curr. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.041 (2023).

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  3. Reiter, C. Wien. Med. Wochenschr. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-022-00985-4 (2022).

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