Michael Jackson’s biographer Ian Halperin has recently revealed that the artist was suffering from a condition called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which is known as a potentially deadly genetic illness.

Moreover, Halperin has informed that Michael Jackson was gradually going blind and had also developed emphysema and needed a lung transplant.

The biographer said that the singer had been suffering from the Alpha-1 antitrypsin condition for several years, but that his health had deteriorated lately, which could render him incapable of undergoing the transplant.

Jackson is said to have almost completely lost the ability to speak, while his doctors have had to make great efforts to stop a chronic gastrointestinal bleeding.

The odd times the singer has left the house during recent years, he has always been seen in a wheelchair, which only goes to prove that his condition has gotten worse over time.

In other news, media reports have informed that Michael Jackson had rented a mansion in Holmby Hills for $100,000 a month, the residence being fitted with 7 bedrooms, 13 baths, 12 fireplaces, a screening room, a guesthouse, a swimming pool and a garden.

Michael Jackson, 50, rose to fame in the 1970s, while during the following decades, five of his solo studio albums became some of the world’s best-selling records: „Off the Wall” (1979), „Thriller”(1982), „Bad” (1987), „Dangerous” (1991) and „HIStory” (1995).

Often called „The King of Pop,” Jacko is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, whereas he can also take pride in several Guinness World Records.