Doctors who watched Joe Biden’s address to the nation tonight have revealed subtle clues about the president’s health.
They noted that the speech was relatively short (just 11 minutes) and that Biden read exclusively from a teleprompter, making it difficult to make a definitive assessment of his mental and physical well-being.
However, Virginia neurologist Dr. W. Chris Winter spotted the 81-year-old man’s low blink rate.
“I was counting the blink rates of all the ABC correspondents and guests before (the speech) and they were anywhere from 30 to 60 per minute,” he told DailyMail.com.
Winter said the president blinks fewer than 10 times per minute on average, well below the 15 to 20 times most people experience. “A low blink rate can be a sign of Parkinson’s disease… an early sign of the disease,” Dr.
Many medical experts have previously suggested that Biden’s apparent cognitive decline could be due to an early form of the disease, especially after it emerged that a Parkinson’s specialist was a regular visitor to the White House during Biden’s tenure.
Meanwhile, California cardiologist Dr. Ernst von Schwarz said Biden’s “dry mouth, staring, very few… hand movements and gestures… could be signs of cognitive decline” caused by his age, or “a neurodegenerative condition” such as dementia.
Doctors who watched Joe Biden’s address to the nation tonight have revealed subtle clues about the president’s health. They warned that his lack of blinking may suggest a neurological problem. His dry mouth and stiff hands imply cognitive decline. They also highlighted his generous application of makeup, likely to hide his pale skin.
But it could also be due to the medication, the doctor told DailyMail.com.
‘Please note that there are ways to improve someone’s speech through medical intervention.
‘The use of medications such as psychostimulants (such as Adderall or Ritalin among others) is very common for many to take them just before conferences or presentations or official tasks as they increase the availability of dopamine in the brain, which can then temporarily modify the trajectory of cognitive decline and improve speech, attention and the ability to communicate.
“I’m not saying that President Biden is taking stimulants, but it wouldn’t be that unusual.”
Biden addressed the nation for the first time tonight after revealing his decision to withdraw from the presidential race in a shocking announcement on Sunday that is said to have taken even his closest team by surprise.
Despite nearly four days of practice, the president made mistakes on several lines and at times spoke so quietly that white noise could be heard during the broadcast.
Dr Winter said a low voice was another warning sign of Parkinson’s.
He suggested that the silence of Biden’s voice may have prompted technicians to turn up the volume on their microphones, causing more background noise to be picked up.
Doctors also highlighted Biden’s generous application of makeup.
They said it appeared more orange than usual, likely to mask the president’s pale skin, which may have worsened when he was sick with Covid last week.
Dr von Schwarz said: “She was obviously wearing a lot of make-up. I think she was probably very pale, you could see it in her décolleté.”
Biden was last seen looking frail as he boarded Air Force One on July 23.
“They’ve put a lot of makeup on her to make her look healthy, but she’s obviously not. In my opinion, she’s very fragile.”
Both doctors agreed that Biden did not appear to be “worse” than he had been in recent months, suggesting that while his condition may be deteriorating, it is not enough to warrant urgent medical attention.
But Dr von Schwarz added: ‘He was reading from a teleprompter, which is simply a repetition technique, making it difficult to measure his intellectual ability.
“But anyone can do that, you don’t have to be a genius to do it.”
He added: “A practiced speech read from a teleprompter is not proof of full mental or intellectual capacity.”
Both said it was also difficult to assess his movements because he remained seated throughout the speech.
Dr Winter said: “Overall, I think he did well.
“He could sit there, speak with conviction, there was a cadence to his voice… I don’t know if that proves anything, but it certainly doesn’t continue to show a (rapid) decline.”
He added: “If that had happened three weeks ago, I don’t think anyone would have said they had lost confidence in Biden.”
Dr von Schwarz said: ‘Overall, of course, I would have expected a good, solid, intelligible speech from President Biden today, and he did well.
‘From my perspective of dealing with older people on a daily basis as a cardiologist and aging researcher, I believe President Biden is an octogenarian… who deserves more rest, support and adequate medical care.’
