President Joe Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, released a memo on Monday on the state of his health in response to the leak that a Parkinson’s expert had visited the White House eight times in eight months. He reiterated the point of his February letter that “there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of myelopathy.” But this doesn’t answer some other questions, and there is some evidence that challenges some of the statements.
The doctor mentioned Biden’s “excellent motor dexterity,” but, during the State of the Union Address, Biden had a visible tremor.
Parkinson’s disease has three symptoms:
Tremors
Muscle rigidity
Bradykinesia, or slowness of movement.
At least the last one, his slow movement, is visible to everyone.
There is also such a thing called parkinsonism. It is not a disease but a description of symptoms. Parkinsonism means that you have a neurological disorder. It could be Parkinson’s disease or something else. People with parkinsonism could have mild or absent tremors.
Dr. O’Connor’s memorandum doesn’t mention muscle rigidity or Bradykinesia.
For example, one neurological disorder that falls under parkinsonism and doesn’t require visible tremors is progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which is a form of frontotemporal dementia. It also explains Biden’s gait.
You have noticed that Biden takes small steps and doesn’t lift his feet much. Neurologists call this magnetic walking because it resembles someone wearing magnetic shoes walking on a metal surface, and he doesn’t move his arms. It is a sign of PSP, or frontotemporal dementia, a form of parkinsonism.
Multiple system atrophy is another illness that falls under the parkinsonism umbrella. It shares similar symptoms but is very rare. It also causes cognitive impairment, ranging from mild forms to dementia.
Biden’s partisans say that his walking is because of his peripheral neuropathy and spinal arthritis, but people with those illnesses don’t walk like that. Specifically, the movement of arms—or lack thereof in Biden’s case—has nothing to do with either of those illnesses.
The explanations that they keep coming up with are insufficient.
Biden might not have Parkinson’s disease, but he likely suffers from a form of parkinsonism like PSP. He needs to take a neurological test and release the results to end this.
Disclaimer: The following is based on an interview with a neurologist who was adamant that no final diagnosis could be made without a formal examination. It is neither the physician’s diagnosis nor mine that Biden suffers from any form of parkinsonism, and you are welcome to disagree. The point of this article is that Biden is showing worrying signs of cognitive impairment, should be examined, and needs to disclose the results of the tests for the good of the country, as any elderly with similar signs should.
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Chuck Warren only and not his co-host Sam Stone or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.
