Health
After Biden’s 'terrible' debate, health experts warn of denial dangers, call for investigation of symptoms
Amid the ongoing fallout from Joe Biden’s lackluster debate performance on June 27, experts continue to react to potential signs of cognitive decline in the 46th president, with the president himself acknowledging on Monday morning, July 8, that he had a “terrible night” and “really regrets” that it happened.
Judy Gaman, CEO of Executive Medicine of Texas — a luxury medical services provider in Southlake — told Fox News Digital over the weekend that Biden’s behaviors highlight a very real health crisis in the U.S.
“As a country, we need to be talking about the realities of this health crisis — the fact that families are often torn apart by denial,” she said.
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While Biden has not been diagnosed with dementia, Gaman said she sees many of the same signs she experienced with her own mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease before her death.
“The person with dementia or Alzheimer’s truly believes they are fine, and can be angered by anyone believing they are not,” Gaman said. (She has not examined or treated Biden.)
President Biden is shown on stage during a campaign rally at Girard College on May 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. Amid the ongoing fallout from Biden’s lackluster debate performance on June 27, experts continue to react to potential signs of cognitive decline in the 46th president. (Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to both the White House and the Biden campaign but did not receive a response.
Red flags
Based on his speech and behaviors, Gaman said she believes Biden “certainly” shows signs of a neurological deficit, with Alzheimer’s being a possibility.
“He stares, loses his thoughts and is rumored to get angry quite easily,” she said. “Watching him is like watching my own mother who had Alzheimer’s,” she added.
“As a country, we need to be talking about the realities of this health crisis — the fact that families are often torn apart by denial.”
Almost all early Alzheimer’s patients rely on notes to help them remember, Gaman pointed out.
“As the disease progresses, they require visual aids and instructions to help them complete even the simplest tasks and to remember dates and events.”
Based on his speech and behaviors, Gaman of Executive Medicine in Texas told Fox News Digital she believes Biden shows signs of a neurological deficit. She has not examined the president. Biden is shown here during the June 27 debate with former President Trump. (Getty Images)
Given Biden’s shuffling feet and lack of arm movement when he walks, Gaman said that Parkinson’s disease could be another possibility.
“If you notice, he also leans forward, which is classic,” she said. “Slowed movement, also known as bradykinesia, is another classic sign. We have all noticed how he looks to be in slow motion.”
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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said it is more likely that Biden has vascular dementia, which is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s.
“His gait is not consistent with Parkinson’s disease,” Siegel, who has not treated Biden, told Fox News Digital.
“He was visited by a Parkinson’s expert in January 2024, but the subsequent White House physical said he didn’t have it.”
“I think what he has is much more consistent with vascular dementia.”
Siegel also said he believes Biden is not showing signs of advancing Alzheimer’s, which would generally involve worsening behavioral issues, delusions and hallucinations.
“I don’t believe this is Alzheimer’s,” the doctor added. “I think what he has is much more consistent with vascular dementia (insufficient blood flow to areas of the brain) from his long-term atrial fibrillation and a result of his brain aneurysm repairs in 1988 and brain bleed at that time.”
One physician called for an MRI to determine whether Biden has vascular dementia, which is when impaired blood flow to the brain causes problems with memory, reasoning, judgment and other thought processes. (iStock)
Vascular dementia is when impaired blood flow to the brain causes problems with memory, reasoning, judgment and other thought processes, according to Mayo Clinic’s website.
It is often caused by strokes, but can also stem from other medical conditions that affect the blood vessels in the brain.
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Most of the cognitive tests — such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment — are designed to assess mild cognitive impairment, according to Siegel.
“Biden appears to be far past that,” he said. “I was calling for that from 2020 to 2023.”
Added Siegel, “He needs an MRI now most of all. We should ask for an MRI.”
The dangers of denial
Regarding the Biden family’s apparent failure to seek help for the president, Gaman said that in her view, she feels there are only three explanations.
“Either they are in denial and have watched this take place over a period of time, so they are less sensitive to the contrast, or they are fully aware but can’t bear the thought of what happens to the family (on many levels) if Joe is no longer president,” she said.
President Biden listens as first lady Jill Biden speaks at a post-debate campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Getty Images)
Or, Gaman added, it could be that they are actually grieving and want to hold onto the hope that he will somehow get better.
“Denial is a stage of grief,” she said. “This is worsened by the fact that they’re surrounded by people pressuring them not to let their opponent win.”
“This is a medical situation, though, of course, it has enormous political implications.”
As far as Biden himself, Siegel said, “He does appear to be in denial. This is very common with dementia or cognitive impairment, as is depression, as those around you start to treat you differently.”
Another possibility, according to Gaman, is that “he probably doesn’t know he has an issue, or he excuses his symptoms. He may not be knowingly covering it up.”
“He stares, loses his thoughts and is rumored to get angry quite easily,” an expert said. “Watching him is like watching my own mother who had Alzheimer’s.” (Saul Loeb/AFP)
“This is why family members of those affected must be advocates, protecting them from themselves.”
She went on, “Ask any family who has dealt with Alzheimer’s, dementia or Parkinson’s, and they will tell you that what we are seeing play out [here] is classic with most families who face this.”
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“His story just happens to be playing out on the big stage. Remember, everyone rallying around Biden and covering up the truth has something personal to gain by him continuing to hold office.”
If Biden is experiencing cognitive decline, failure to get him the medical attention he needs could be putting his health in danger, according to Gaman.
“As a physician, I feel compassion for the president,” Dr. Marc Siegel said. “I have learned to feel empathy for anyone who is ill. This is a medical situation, though, of course, it has enormous political implications.” (Fox News)
“While there are certainly no cures for Alzheimer’s or Parkinsons, these conditions are often accelerated by stress and lack of sleep,” she told Fox News Digital.
“From Joe’s health standpoint, this is like pouring gasoline on a fire. From the standpoint of the country, we need to address this as a health crisis and not a political crisis.”
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Gaman also noted that if Biden does have one of these conditions, he will not ask for help.
“This is a prime opportunity to increase funding for research, raise awareness and encourage others dealing with this to come out of denial.”
Siegel added that he is also concerned about the possibility of depression, which could make dementia worse.
“As a physician, I feel compassion for the president,” he said. “I have learned to feel empathy for anyone who is ill. This is a medical situation, though, of course, it has enormous political implications.”
If Biden does have a neurodegenerative condition, Siegel said, the symptoms may wax and wane, but “do not generally get better.”
He added, “He will likely get worse, especially under all this stress and scrutiny.”
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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