Beethoven’s bad liver may not have been solely down to alcohol, say experts
Mar 22, 2023
3 minutes
When an autopsy was carried out after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death in 1827, his liver was found to be “beset with nodules the size of a bean”. Now researchers say the cause may not have been alcohol consumption alone, with a genetic analysis revealing the great composer experienced a hepatitis B infection and was at high risk for liver disease – the condition generally thought to have killed him.
Tristan Begg, first author of the research from the University of Cambridge, said Beethoven had been extremely sensitive in
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