Perhaps Moody Brahms Just Needed His ZZZs

Every now and then, a doctor or scientist gets historical on us and publishes an article asserting that a famous artist, musician or otherwise well-known personage probably suffered from some malady--as evidenced by their physique, writings, music, paintings or political rantings.

Thus we’ve learned, over the years, that Vincent van Gogh had psychological issues (that ear incident was a tip-off); that President Abraham Lincoln’s tall, skinny frame may have been due to a condition called Marfan’s syndrome; and that the artist El Greco maybe had astigmatism, explaining the distorted way he painted people.

In fact, a search of the online index PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/), which lists publications from medical journals, reveals many articles with titles such as “Monet’s Cataracts,” “Some Neurological Observations on Leonardo da Vinci’s Handwriting” and “Infectious Diseases in Persons of Leadership.”

The latest? A paper in Chest--sorry, nothing raunchy, just a journal of the American College of Chest Physicians--asserting that composer Johannes Brahms had a sleeping disorder. Maybe he needed that famous lullaby of his.

The author, Dr. Mitchell L. Margolis of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, argues that Brahms had a slew of symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, which affects as many as 20 million Americans, and is characterized by interrupted breathing, heavy snoring, daytime sleepiness and sleep deprivation.

True, writes Margolis, Brahms never married, so there are no old letters from a Mrs. Brahms complaining about her hubby’s horrendous honking. But there is other evidence, he says.

For instance, a traveling companion once fled the room they were sharing because staying there “would mean death to any hope of sleep.” Brahms was often spotted snoozing the afternoons away in Vienna cafes. His obesity and huge neck circumference--a reason, hazards Margolis, that he didn’t wear neckties--is another predictor of obstructive sleep apnea.

Finally, notes Margolis, it’s possible that Brahms’ famed moodiness and isolation from friends and family were fueled by sleep deprivation and that this could have made him even more passionately devoted to his art.

Sleep apnea: a not-to-be-recommended aid to greatness.

Hairless Pets Are a Sensitive Subject

The other day, a pal told me she absolutely had to own a pair of leather pants. I accompanied her to Hollywood to make the purchase.

As she shoe-horned her way into various garments, the saleslady kept up a smooth patter. Among many other things, she told us the leather pants in her store were of the highest quality. Why? Because they were made from the hide of a sheep’s underside, not its back.

Back leather, she explained, was exposed to the elements. The wind. The rain. The sun. Thus it was much more likely to crack and rip than the pristine, sheltered leather from a belly.

Really? Can this be true? What about all that protective wool? We posed the question to Dr. Stephen White, professor at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and a board-certified veterinary dermatologist. While we were at it, we asked whether the hides of pets--especially those naked breeds such as Mexican hairless dogs and sphinx hairless cats--need protecting.

For the most part, he said, hair--plus pigment on their noses and other places where there’s just bare skin--keeps pets pretty protected. But it’s a good idea to keep pets out of the sun during the hottest hours of the day (10 a.m. to midafternoon), or at least make sure they have shelter. Waterproof sunscreen, either from the pet store or one that’s kid-friendly, can be applied to any unpigmented hairless places, such as the ears, noses and lips of white cats. (White warns that slicking up your cat won’t be easy.) As for those nekkid pets: You might want to keep ‘em indoors.

White had no definitive answer on the sheep question, except to point out that there’s a lot of processing that happens to a hide after it leaves a sheep, and that there could well be inherent differences between back hide and belly hide anyway.

Any leather experts out there, feel free to contact us.

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Booster Shots runs every Monday. If you have a possible Booster Shots item, write or e-mail Rosie Mestel at The Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012, rosie.mestel@latimes.com.