Urological Diseases among 50 Composers

Abstract

IntroductionAmong more than thousand composer's pathographies we have sorted out those who had died of illnesses which had been a result or in a way connected to urological and renal diseases [1-16].Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)French composer. Fie had a calm and steady course of development and it was reflected in the manner of his composing. Fie was active until the age of 80, although ailing and weak. His condition deteriorated due to scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) and purulent fever (possibly pyelonephritis with seizuresspasms) and he died suddenly.Jean-Jacques Roussseau (1712-1778)French composer and philosopher. Problems with erectile dysfunction exacerbated at the end of his life and at the same time problems with urinary bladder occurred (urinary neuropathy, urinary frequency and incontinence because of polyuria, perineal pain, urolithiasis). Although dysuria occurred because of his obsession, phobia and problems with erectile dysfunction, there was probably an organic substrate in the background, due to urinary retention up to kidney and uraemia with partially psychotic clinical presentation. It could have been a chronic gonorrhoea. Very soon he fell into coma and died. There was no significant evidence of the urologie disease found at the autopsy.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)Austrian composer. Mercury poisoning with uraemia, hyperthyreosis, small subdural haematoma and alcohol addiction had been slowly developing and lead to his final symptoms. Mozart's final disease, probably infectious one caused by Streptococcus bacteria, was a relapse of rheumatic fever. It could also have been a kidney disease caused by Streptococcus bacteria or Hennoch - Schonlein purpura. Since he was conducting on his death day, lying in a bed, to requiem soloists during their lesson, it is not possible that developed stage of uraemia could hev been the cause of his death.Conclusively, what is left are some generalized bacterial infections (coli bacteria, staphylococci, and most probably streptococci), which are the most probable cause of Mozart's terminal illness and its terminal stages.Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840)Italian composer. He had intense disorders in a region of genitourinary organs as a result of chronic gonorrhoea and syphilis. In 1837 due to urethra stricture, probably caused by enlarged prostate, catheter dilatation was done. It is quite possible that Paganini had mixed specific (both tuberculoid and syphilitic) infection of the respiratory tract, which was a cause of his death. He was also a drug (opium) addict.Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)Italian composer. It is considered that he probably started with "sweet lifestyle" at the age of 15 and had been infected with gonorrhoea. Despite all kinds of palliative therapies, the disease had become chronic with many episodes of re-infections due to new adventures (alcohol abuse). Chronic urethritis with purulent liquid and reduced urinary flow occurred because of cicatricial urethral strictures. In 1867/1868 he had been barely recovered after he had acquired pneumonia with severe cough and fever (delirium?). He died due to complications of progressive rectal cancer with chronic heart failure, hypertension and diabetes.Pyotr-Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)Russian composer, conductor, music writer, critic and teacher. In 1893, during a business lunch, he deliberately poured himself a glass of unboiled water from the river Neva which was a very unreasonable thing to do since cholera epidemic partly raged in St. Petersburg. He drank the water to his friends' terror. He was sick that night and went straight to bed. He woke up after a few hours in fever (delirious) and feeling stomach spasms, soon diarrhoea and vomiting started. He had stomach spasms and felt an excessive thirst. Muscle ache appeared together with anuria, as a part of uraemia. One day his condition improved, only to get much worse the next day, when he died. …