Polish professor: Chopin had cystic fibrosis
June 2nd, 2008
From Polskie Radio, Poland’s radio network:
Frederic Chopin, widely regarded as Poland’s greatest composer, died of complications of cystic fibrosis, according to Professor Wojciech Cichy of the Medical University in Poznan. Reports at the time of Chopin’s death in 1849 had attributed his death to tuberculosis.
As evidence, Prof. Cichy points to the presence of nodules on the surface of the composer’s heart, cited in the autopsy report, as well as the medical history of members of Chopin’s immediate family. Two of his three sisters died of lung diseases, the youngest at the age of 15. Chopin died at age 39 .
Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary condition that was not recognized until the 1930s, long after the composer’s death. Prof. Cichy says he hopes to be able to carry out further genetic research on the basis of material taken from the remains of Emilia Chopin, Frederic’s sister.
A review article in the Journal of Applied Genetics in 2003 concluded that CF was a “probable cause” of Chopin’s death. The authors called for more research on the subject:
Is it justifiable to deepen our knowledge about the great Polish composer, but foremost to give hope and meaning to those who nowadays suffer from genetically inherited disorders? Is it not right to make an attempt to prove to many suffering people that many things count in life much more than a weak physical body, and that they are not predestined to vanish without leaving something that will influence, inspire and enrich the generations to come?
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