Researchers examined the composer’s hair samples. It is known that he struggled with gastrointestinal system (pain and diarrhea) and liver disease problems for many years. The scientists did not find that Beethoven was genetically particularly susceptible to any gastrointestinal disease. But with the liver everything turned out to be more interesting.
The composer turned out to have two copies of a particular variant of the PNPLA3 gene associated with liver cirrhosis. He also had a single copy of two variants of the gene that causes hemochromatosis, a liver-damaging disease. Tests also showed that Beethoven was infected with the hepatitis B virus in the last months (and possibly earlier) of his life. What’s more, alcohol consumption may have increased the risk of liver disease.
DNA analysis also revealed Beethoven’s family secret. At some point in Ludwig’s seven-generation family, scientists discovered that someone’s father was not biological.
Source: Ferra
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