Laurence Sherwood wrote:

>More seriously, there is one interesting fact about Beethoven that I
>believe has only come to light in the past year: starting in his early
>twenties, he suffered from lead poisoning.  I cannot provide a reference-
>well I admit, I heard it on National Public Radio- but the report I heard
>sounded authoritative and was backed up by chemical analysis of his hair.

Unfortunately this research cannot be taken seriously. I've studied all
the ins and outs (insofar published) and I can only say that this supposed
early onset of lead poisoning is very, very unlikely. The symptoms
Beethoven showed simply don't fit and the reasoning of those who published
this article is a bunch of speculations and bad biographical knowledge, at
least the medical side of it. I've discussed the article with quite a lot
of medical experts and they all shrugged their shoulders about it.

Joyce Maier
www.ademu.com/Beethoven