2024-05-09 09:50:44
To this day, no one knows exactly what caused the liver and kidney disease that led to his death. The German composer died in 1827 at the age of 56 after several years of declining health.
A new study conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School shows that L. van Beethoven was indeed heavily poisoned with lead. However, the amount of lead was not high enough to kill him, disproving the long-held theory that he died of this particular poisoning.
Van Beethoven had many health problems, including digestive problems, hearing loss, liver and kidney failure, all of which are attributed to lead poisoning. He also had a terrible temper, memory problems and clumsiness, the usual neurological symptoms associated with such poisoning.
in 2000 scientists examined a lock of hair believed to have belonged to L. van Beethoven and found that the hair contained large amounts of lead. However, it turned out that the hair did not belong to the composer, but to a woman.
Last year, scientists tried again to solve the mystery of his death. Nader Rifai, a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, and his team examined several other strands of hair and confirmed that they belonged to L. van Beethoven by sequencing his genome.
They then analyzed the two toxins using a highly precise technique called mass spectrometry. This method determines the mass of the particles to determine the chemical structure of the sample or molecule
From this, the researchers were able to calculate that Beethoven’s blood lead concentration may have been 69-71 µg/dL. Although this is several times the normal blood lead concentration in adults, it is not high enough to be considered the sole cause of his death.
However, it likely contributed to many of his health problems.
“While the concentrations found do not support the idea that lead exposure caused Beethoven’s death, it may have contributed to the documented ailments that plagued him for most of his life,” Rifai said. “We believe this is an important piece of a complex puzzle that will help historians, physicians and scientists better understand the medical history of the great composer.”
All research findings have been published žurnale „Clinical Chemistry“.
Parenting crazy “Newsweek”.
2024-05-09 09:50:44