Viennese Pathologist Says Beethoven's Physician Inadvertently Poisoned Composer

[demoleft]

AP story.
'...
Previous research determined that Beethoven had suffered from lead poisoning, first detecting toxic levels of the metal in his hair and then, two years ago, in bone fragments. Those findings strengthened the belief that lead poisoning may have contributed - and ultimately led - to his death at age 57.

But Viennese forensic expert Christian Reiter claims to know more after months of painstaking work applying CSI-like methods to strands of Beethoven's hair.

He says his analysis, published last week in the Beethoven Journal, shows that in the final months of the composer's life, lead concentrations in his body spiked every time he was treated by his doctor, Andreas Wawruch, for fluid inside the abdomen. Those lethal doses permeated Beethoven's ailing liver, ultimately killing him, Reiter told The Associated Press.

"His death was due to the treatments by Dr. Wawruch," said Reiter, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna's Medical University. "Although you cannot blame Dr. Wawruch - how was he to know that Beethoven already had a serious liver ailment?"'

So the fact may be that lead-containing medicines were given a man already poisoned.
As to the reason why he had all that lead in his body, some say it was lead-laced wine he dranke - others point to lead-concentrated water he had drunk as a young man.

Beautiful AP article with a final link.

AP, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WHO_KILLED_BEETHOVEN?SITE=INKEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[shain from kane]

1. Should have stopped at four bottles. It was the fifth fifth that killed him. n/t

[stopbush]

3. It was fate knocking at the door.

It gives a whole new read to the opening of the 5th Symphony:

lead-poi-son-ing.... lead-poi-son-ing....

[stopbush]

2. How soon before Limpballs or Hannity opines that we should let our

kids play with lead-poisoned toys from China/WallMart because they'll grow up to be geniuses like Beethoven?

[Turbineguy]

4. Now there you go again

giving those two idiots good ideas.