Ludwig van Beethoven.

Renowned musician and composer Ludwig van Beethoven asked his doctor, JA Schmidt, to publicly describe his progressive hearing loss and gastrointestinal problems after his death so that "as far as possible, at least the world would reconcile with me."

Since then, the causes of his death have been a mystery.

Now, more than two centuries later, a large international team of scientists has fulfilled his wish and,

after analyzing the DNA of five locks of his hair

-previously authenticated-, has found no explanation for his deafness or his gastrointestinal problems, but yes

has discovered that he had a genetic predisposition to liver disease

, as detailed in a study published in the journal Current Biology.

The researchers searched for the possible genetic origin of Beethoven's chronic gastrointestinal complaints and severe liver disease (possibly cirrhosis) that culminated in his death in 1827, aged 56.

The authors found no genetic explanation for Beethoven's gastrointestinal problems, but note that celiac disease and lactose intolerance "are highly unlikely."

DNA testing also found no answer to any of these mentioned health problems, but did uncover

genetic factors for liver disease and evidence that he had suffered from a hepatitis B virus infection in the months before his death

, which were aggravated by alcohol and the composer's genetic risk.

"We cannot say definitively what killed Beethoven, but we can now at least confirm the presence of a significant hereditary risk and infection with the hepatitis B virus," explained Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute.

"We can deduce from Beethoven's 'conversation books,' which he used for the last decade of his life, that his alcohol consumption was very regular, although it is difficult to estimate the volumes consumed," said Tristan Begg, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of Cambridge.

And while most sources point to its consumption being moderate by early 19th century Viennese standards, it is likely that it reached amounts of alcohol known today to be harmful to the liver.

"Given the known medical history, it is very likely that - his death - was due to some combination of these three factors, including his alcohol consumption, acting in concert, but future investigations will have to clarify the extent to which each was involved. factor," Begg added.

Regarding the recognized hearing loss, vital for a musician, the DNA analysis failed to identify a clear genetic basis

, although the researchers warn that the study is not enough to rule out this hypothesis.

In addition, Beethoven's DNA held another surprise:

His Y chromosome does not match that of any of the five current relatives who bear his last name and share, according to genealogical records, a common paternal ancestor

.

In other words, at some point in the generations on the part of Beethoven's father there was an extramarital "event": "This finding suggests an extraparental paternity event in his paternal line between the conception of Hendrik van Beethoven in Kampenhout (Belgium) around 1572 and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later, in 1770, in Bonn (Germany)”, concludes Begg.

The University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), the Beethoven Center San Jose and the American Beethoven Society of California (United States), the University KU Leuven (Belgium), the University of Bonn, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany).

(With information from DW, EFE and AFP)