Scientific medical testing of the Guevara Lock of Beethoven's Hair
The portion of the lock in San Jose contains 422 hairs (73% of the original); Dr. Guevara retains the remaining 160 hairs (27%). Dr. Guevara, a urologist, and Mr. Brilliant, a Beethoven collector and specialist, assembled a nationwide team of scientists to perform tests on a small sample of the portion of the hair in Dr. Guevara's possession. All of the hairs used for testing have come from Dr. Guevara' portion.
Three scientific tests have been conducted on the hair as of October 2000:
Test no. 1: Radio-immuno assay. Dr. Werner Baumgartner, Los Angeles. May 1996The first test was conducted by Dr. Werner Baumgartner at Psychemedics Corporation, Los Angeles. The radio-immuno assay involved examination of 20 hairs to see if Beethoven received any opiate painkillers during the last months of his life. A negative result was obtained, indicating that these hairs did not contain any evidence to support ingestion of morphine or other forms of opiates (such as laudanum). Morphine has a long and historic use as a pain-killer, sedative, treatment for fever, and anti-diarrhea medicine in Europe. The Encyclopedia of Medical History notes that "Before 1870, European medicine regarded opium as a virtual panacea."
Beethoven received over 75 bottles of medicine and numerous medicinal powders from his physician Dr. Andreas Wawruch (1771-1842) while he was on his deathbed. According to Anton Schindler (Beethoven's secretary), Dr. Wawruch "ruined him [Beethoven] with too much medication" and Beethoven lost confidence in the doctor. There is no record of which medicines Wawruch prescribed for Beethoven. (See the standard biography of Beethoven, Thayer's Life of Beethoven, ed. Elliot Forbes, rev. ed., Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1967, p. 1031.)
Test no. 2: Trace metals analysis. Dr. William Walsh, Naperville, IllinoisThe second test was a trace metals analysis conducted by Dr. William Walsh at the HRI & Pfeiffer Research Center in Naperville, Illinois. This test will reveal the presence of any trace heavy metals. The following results of this test were announced by Dr. Walsh on Tuesday, October 17:High lead concentrations in Beethoven's hair were found in independent analyses by McCrone Research Institute & Argonne National Laboratory. This is evidence that Beethoven had plumbism (lead poisoning) which may have caused his life-long illnesses, impacted his personality, and possibly contributed to his death.
Distinctive trace-metal patterns associated with genius, irritability, glucose disorders, and malabsorption were not present in the Beethoven samples tested by McCrone Research Institute.
Very low (undetectable) mercury levels were reported independently by McCrone Research Institute and Argonne National Laboratory. These results provide no evidence that Beethoven received medical treatment for syphilis, usually treated in the 1820's with mercury compounds. This supports the consensus of Beethoven scholars who believe that Beethoven never had syphilis. Rumors that Beethoven suffered from syphilis have been discounted in all serious musicological literature for the last thirty years.
For more information, see the text of Dr. Walsh's press conference and the press release lfrom the HRI & Pfeiffer Research Center.
Test no. 3: DNA analysis of three hairs from Dr. Guevara's portionBecause some of the strands of hair contained portions of the bulb, three hairs from the portion owned by Dr. Guevara were tested at Laboratory Corporation of America in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Results were received by Dr. Guevara and the Beethoven Center in June 1999. The results that were obtained will be used in the future to match the Guevara Lock to other locks of hair or other material.Scientists and historians who wish to proposed a project that would involve use of this information should contact William Meredith, Director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies.
