A new study published on Wednesday has reached several conclusions about composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s background and medical history, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

Genomic analysis examined DNA samples from eight strands of hair, presented as belonging to the legendary composer, from public or private collections. Researchers have established that five of them come from one male individual and date from the beginning of the 19th century.

Of these five directions, the history of two is continuous for two centuries, confirmed by abundant documentation.

One was given in 1826 by Beethoven to his musician friend, and the other comes from a family friend who took care of the composer’s funeral. According to researchers, these five directions, covering the last seven years of Beethoven’s life, are almost certainly authentic.

A modern study of one of the most famous classical composers

The DNA sequencing was carried out in Germany, at the anthropological laboratory of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, where prehistoric people are usually studied.

Unlike the analysis of bones, “in hair, the DNA is very degraded,” explained Johannes Krause, head of the institute’s genetics department and co-author of the study. “It was difficult to collect enough DNA to assemble a genome,” he added.

Several meters of hair were used, and in the end three quarters of the genome (all the genes of a living being) could be mapped.

Scientists discovered, among other things, that Beethoven had a genetic predisposition to liver disease and that he had been infected with the hepatitis B virus, an inflammatory disease that affects the liver, a few months before his death.

These factors, along with regular alcohol consumption, are “plausible explanations” for Beethoven’s death in 1827, said the authors of the study, published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

“So we think his disease comes from an interaction” between these three factors, explained Markus Noten, also a co-author of the study.

Of the eight castles studied, one was an outstanding historical artifact known as Hiller’s Castle, which had previously been studied and was the subject of a documentary film and a best-selling book.

New discoveries about Ludwig van Beethoven

Research in this area previously suggested that Beethoven died of lead poisoning (Saturnism). However, after a recent analysis, it was discovered that the thread did not belong to Beethoven, but to a woman of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

Also, according to this analysis, family members in Belgium who believed they were related to Beethoven and shared the same surname were not actually directly related to the composer. The reason for this surprise was an “out-of-pair paternity event” found in Beethoven’s paternal ancestry, linked to human Y chromosomes.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s grandmother is believed to have had an extramarital affair that led to the birth of the composer’s father, according to Maarten Larmuseau, a study co-author and professor of genetic genealogy at the University of Leuven in Belgium.

“It cannot be ruled out that Beethoven himself was out of wedlock,” said Tristan Begg, a researcher at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the study. “This is an opportunity,” he added.

Scientists were unable to find answers to Beethoven’s mysterious hearing loss in his 20s or the gastrointestinal problems that plagued him throughout his life, but ruled out otosclerosis or Paget’s disease, respectively, celiac disease and an intolerance. lactose

In 1802, the composer expressed his desire in a letter to his brothers, written in a moment of despair, that his illness be described after his death and made public.