Debate about age: Speculation about health: Biden’s doctor speaks out

After open questions about visits by a Parkinson’s specialist to the White House, US President Joe Biden’s doctor is making details public. Dr. Kevin Cannard is the neurological specialist who examines President Biden for each of his annual routine health checks, wrote Biden’s personal physician Kevin O’Connor in a letter published by the White House. Cannard was not chosen because he is a movement disorder specialist, but because he is “a highly qualified and highly respected neurologist.” His “very broad expertise” gives him the flexibility to evaluate a wide variety of patients and problems.

Biden’s spokeswoman is grilled at press conference

Previously, a heated debate had broken out at the daily press conference in the White House between the journalists present and Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre refused to explain why Cannard had regularly visited the White House in recent months. The New York Times, citing official visitor logs, wrote that Cannard had been to the government headquarters eight times since last summer. “It doesn’t matter how much you push me, it doesn’t matter how angry you are with me,” the spokeswoman said in response to several inquiries about the visits. “We cannot name the specialists, from the dermatologist to the neurologist.”

Expert works in medical unit in the White House

According to Biden’s doctor O’Connor, the results of Cannard’s neurological examination have been made public each time. At the end of February, the published health report stated that Biden had no signs of possible strokes or Parkinson’s disease and that the president had “no tremors.” “President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual examination,” O’Connor wrote. Cannard has been a neurological advisor to the White House Medical Unit since 2012.

This department of the White House is responsible for the medical needs of the President, staff and visitors to the White House. Cannard holds regular office hours there. “Seeing patients in the White House is something Dr. Cannard has been doing for a dozen years.” To protect the privacy of patients, the names of the experts are not normally published. In this case, an exception is being made.

Biden in crisis mode since TV debacle

Since his TV debacle against Republican challenger Donald Trump, the 81-year-old Biden has increasingly had to face questions about his mental fitness. He has also come under pressure in the Democratic Party. In the USA, there is a debate about whether Biden is really the right Democratic presidential candidate for the November election because of his advanced age. Biden rejects any doubts. He refuses to take a cognitive health test to determine his mental abilities. His spokeswoman Jean-Pierre also stressed once again that they see no reason for this.

The current step by the White House is unusual and shows how great the pressure has become. The publication of the details is likely intended to dispel speculation about Biden’s possible Parkinson’s disease. “Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he is not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No,” Jean-Pierre said at the press briefing.

Disease of the nervous system

Parkinson’s is a nerve-related movement disorder that primarily affects older people. The cause of the disease, also known as shaking palsy, is the death of nerve cells in the brain. They then no longer produce dopamine, which the body normally uses to control movements. This results in numerous disorders: tremors, tense muscles, and gait and balance disorders. In addition, there is quiet and monotonous speech and rigid facial expressions.