Chemists from the University of Catania in Italy have suggested that Vlad Dracula suffered from a rare disease called haemolacria, in which blood comes out of the eyes along with tears. The study was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.
University specialists analyzed three letters from the ruler of Wallachia (a region in southern Romania). They coated them with a polymer that traps protein molecules and their ethylene-vinyl acetate fragments, and later studied the composition of the compounds using mass spectrometry.
According to the results of the research, 500 peptides were found, of which 100 belonged to humans. In addition, experts have found three peptides that are found in retinal proteins and tears. According to the results of their tests, Dracula could suffer from haemolacria, and scientists also suggested that the disease could be associated with an eye injury, an infection of the mucous membrane, or bacterial conjunctivitis.
This is not the only disease that chemists allow. They found molecules that showed the likelihood of a genetic disease of ciliopathy in Vlad III. It, in turn, causes various signs, for example, defects in the nervous system, retina, polycystic kidney disease and others. Scientists believe that Dracula had respiratory infections.
Scientists noted that there is a possibility that the molecules did not belong to Dracula, it cannot be denied that other people also touched the documents.
Earlier in Italy it was suggested that Leonardo da Vinci could have Caucasian roots.
