U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has experienced two brain aneurysms, both of which required surgery.
In February of 1988, he had a headache that turned out to be a brain aneurysm. He had surgery, and he had to have surgery again in the spring when a second smaller aneurysm formed.
Although it is impossible for any physician to give a diagnosis of any patient without a direct examination, doctors are debating whether Biden’s showing is indicative of an abnormal neurological disorder or normal age-related mental changes.
“Being like Biden is not a normal part of aging,” forensic psychologist Carole Lieberman Dtated when asked about Biden.
Lieberman, who has worked for over 20 years as a medical expert witness, recalled her experience testifying in contested will cases, having to examine the mental capacity of the testator posthumously.
While she hasn’t examined Biden personally, Lieberman based her opinion upon observing his behavior that dementia is a strong possibility.
“If I had to take a guess, I would say that it is vascular dementia because he has long had cardiovascular problems,” Lieberman said. “He had a brain bleed years ago from an aneurysm. He had atrial fibrillation.”
Vascular dementia results in problems with reasoning, judgment, memory, and thought processes due to brain damage caused by impaired blood flow. Damage to blood vessels in the brain reduces the brain’s vital supply of oxygen and essential nutrients.
Lieberman said she does not believe the president is showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a different form of dementia that is thought to be caused by proteins accumulating in the brain.
Other commentators are not convinced that Biden showed symptoms of dementia at all but rather Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that affects both mobility and cognition.
Robert Howard, a geriatric psychology specialist at the University College of London, told the Daily Mail that the symptoms Biden appears to be showing both physically and mentally are more aligned with Parkinson’s because they appear more sporadically.
Parkison’s is second to Alzheimer’s as the leading cause of age-related neurodegenerative decline.
“He’s fine 98 percent of the time, but there are occasions when he appears to have lost his train of thought and others where he can’t stop himself from rambling. These fluctuations and dips in attention are key symptoms of Parkinson’s,” Howard said.
A Parkinson’s diagnosis for Biden has also been suggested because of changes in his gait and posture, both of which have grown increasingly strained over the past two years.
In February of 1988, he had a headache that turned out to be a brain aneurysm. He had surgery, and he had to have surgery again in the spring when a second smaller aneurysm formed.
Although it is impossible for any physician to give a diagnosis of any patient without a direct examination, doctors are debating whether Biden’s showing is indicative of an abnormal neurological disorder or normal age-related mental changes.
“Being like Biden is not a normal part of aging,” forensic psychologist Carole Lieberman Dtated when asked about Biden.
Lieberman, who has worked for over 20 years as a medical expert witness, recalled her experience testifying in contested will cases, having to examine the mental capacity of the testator posthumously.
While she hasn’t examined Biden personally, Lieberman based her opinion upon observing his behavior that dementia is a strong possibility.
“If I had to take a guess, I would say that it is vascular dementia because he has long had cardiovascular problems,” Lieberman said. “He had a brain bleed years ago from an aneurysm. He had atrial fibrillation.”
Vascular dementia results in problems with reasoning, judgment, memory, and thought processes due to brain damage caused by impaired blood flow. Damage to blood vessels in the brain reduces the brain’s vital supply of oxygen and essential nutrients.
Lieberman said she does not believe the president is showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a different form of dementia that is thought to be caused by proteins accumulating in the brain.
Other commentators are not convinced that Biden showed symptoms of dementia at all but rather Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that affects both mobility and cognition.
Robert Howard, a geriatric psychology specialist at the University College of London, told the Daily Mail that the symptoms Biden appears to be showing both physically and mentally are more aligned with Parkinson’s because they appear more sporadically.
Parkison’s is second to Alzheimer’s as the leading cause of age-related neurodegenerative decline.
“He’s fine 98 percent of the time, but there are occasions when he appears to have lost his train of thought and others where he can’t stop himself from rambling. These fluctuations and dips in attention are key symptoms of Parkinson’s,” Howard said.
A Parkinson’s diagnosis for Biden has also been suggested because of changes in his gait and posture, both of which have grown increasingly strained over the past two years.
