Health
Joe Biden's health: Leadership ability questions mount as Oval Office speech gave no reason for exiting race
During a live address on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden spoke of his decision to exit the 2024 race, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, and announced his intent to stay in office for the rest of his term, which is 178 days at this point.
He did not, however, mention his health status or his recent COVID battle.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s personal physician, told reporters on Thursday that Biden’s health and mental cognition were both “excellent,” yet some experts have been expressing concerns that remaining in office could take a physical and mental toll on the president.
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Here’s what some doctors are saying.
Potential risks of staying in office
Health experts said the high-pressure nature of the presidency could pose “significant health risks” for Biden, who has recently displayed signs of cognitive challenges.
Experts agreed that the high-pressure nature of the presidency could pose “significant health risks” for President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)
“I am definitely concerned about the stress, and am worried he could be depressed while apparently continuing to fail cognitively,” Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
He has not treated Biden.
He also said, “I am furious that the White House is in denial mode and is not giving us any details, and that the White House doctor is not coming forward,” adding that he “feels compassion” for the president.
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Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, reiterated that the “immense, demanding and relentless” stress of the presidency can significantly impact physical and cognitive health.
“For President Biden, who has a history of cognitive issues, the toll of such stress is particularly concerning,” he told Fox News Digital, expressing his professional opinion. Osborn has not examined or treated the president.
“Prolonged exposure to high cortisol levels can accelerate the deterioration of brain regions.”
Stress can worsen cognitive issues by causing a spike in cortisol, the primary stress hormone, Osborn said.
“Prolonged exposure to high cortisol levels can accelerate the deterioration of brain regions, such as the frontal and temporal lobes, which are crucial for cognitive functions like memory, decision-making and impulse control,” he said.
President Biden boards Air Force One as he departs Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on July 23, 2024. It was his first public appearance since announcing his departure from the 2024 presidential race. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“This suggests that the demanding nature of the presidency could further accelerate any existing cognitive decline in President Biden, potentially diminishing his ability to fulfill the complex and high-stakes responsibilities of his office.”
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Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a board-certified neurologist at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, also surmised that in the presence of any type of dementia, it may be more difficult to process stressors and handle stressful situations, which can lead to worsening cognitive abilities.
The high-pressure job has been known to have physical ramifications, said one neurologist.
“In the long run, this can affect overall physical health,” Murray told Fox News Digital.
Even with cognitively healthy presidents, Murray said, the high-pressure job has been known to have physical ramifications. (Murray and other doctors referenced here have not treated Biden.)
“If you look through presidential history, [you can] compare pictures of presidents at the beginning of their term to pictures of them at the end of their term,” he said.
Biden is shown on Sunday, July 14, during his address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House about the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
“It’s obvious that the aging process has likely occurred at a faster rate than the normal population due to the immense pressure and stress the presidency brings on a daily basis,” he also said.
“This would be accentuated in someone with cognitive limitations.”
‘A bit of relief’?
Although continued public scrutiny could also lead to increased stress, the fact that Biden has bowed out of the presidential race means that a significant stressor in his life has been eliminated, according to Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author based in New York City.
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“Biden might actually feel a bit of relief now that he has stopped running for president,” he told Fox News Digital.
“The intense pressure and stress from constant attacks by the opposing side and scrutiny from within his own party will be lessened significantly, and he will likely be better able to focus on his role and responsibilities,” Alpert added.
Experts’ advice
Doctors who shared professional opinions with Fox News Digital agreed that in their view, Biden should receive ongoing medical care and monitoring.
“President Biden should be given full treatment and support that’s honest and transparent, as the remainder of his term plays out.”
“Given the noticeable decline in the president’s health, my hope would be that he is closely monitored by his physician and that the team brings in any experts necessary to properly evaluate any new issues that might arise in coming months,” Alpert said.
“President Biden should be given full treatment and support that’s honest and transparent, as the remainder of his term plays out.”
Neurologist Murray said that a patient of his with a certain degree of dementia “needs fairly consistent supervision.”
He added, “I would not recommend making large financial decisions or higher-level executive decisions without advice from family members who are looking out for the best interests of the patient.”
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It is essential that the president receives appropriate medical care and stress management for the remainder of his term, Osborn said.
“While President Biden’s commitment to serving his country is commendable, the potential health risks associated with continuing in such a high-pressure role cannot be ignored,” the neurosurgeon said.
It is crucial for Biden to prioritize his health and well-being, said one medical expert, even if it means stepping back from demanding roles. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It is crucial for Biden to prioritize health and well-being, according to Osborn, even if it means stepping back from demanding roles.
Healthy lifestyle behaviors — such as daily exercise, stress management, and proper nutrition and supplements — are also important, he advised, as well as a “robust support system of professionals, including a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and a physical therapist.”
“The potential health risks associated with continuing in such a high-pressure role cannot be ignored.”
“These are crucial steps in maintaining his health and, by extension, the effective governance of the nation, which he otherwise places at extreme risk,” Osborn added.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health
In response to earlier outreach from Fox News Digital, the White House press office said that “health was not a factor” in the president’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.
“He looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people,” the White House said in its statement.
A married couple who have long enjoyed the game of Scrabble both together and separately before they even met are never at a loss for words — and attribute their wedded bliss in part to their love of the nostalgic game.
They’re still playing in tournaments built around the game decades after they began doing so.
Graham Harding and his wife Helen Harding, both in their 60s, have been married for over 20 years.
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They met in the 1990s at Scrabble tournaments, as news agency SWNS reported.
But it was a “special match” in 2000 that brought the couple together — and has kept them together now.
Graham and Helen Harding on their wedding day. They’ve been playing in Scrabble tournaments for some 30 years. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
Graham Harding is from the East Berkshire Scrabble Club, while his wife Helen is from the Leicester Scrabble Club in the U.K.
They have been taking part in the UK Open Scrabble Championship in Reading this week.
“The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
“Scrabble is all about having a good vocabulary,” said Graham Harding, SWNS noted.
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“But it is a Scrabble vocabulary — not necessarily everyday English.”
Added Helen Harding, “The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
Graham and Helen Harding’s wedding cake. They bonded over their love of Scrabble – and are still playing in tournaments together. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
The couple said they were “vague acquaintances” for about five years after they first met.
Then they got together after a special match in Swindon.
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They maintained a long-distance relationship before they got married in 2004.
The couple even brought their Scrabble board to their wedding.
The couple likely have played thousands of games between them. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
It featured a message with Scrabble pieces that said, “Congratulations on your wedding day” — while their wedding cake said, in Scrabble letters, “Helen and Graham.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
They each took up the hobby early in life well before they met each other.
The tournament that’s been taking place this week is the first since the COVID pandemic after a five-year break — and the couple has played some two dozen games in it as of Friday, SWNS reported.
It might be worth working a little bit harder to get that much-desired, but often elusive, good night’s sleep.
Deep sleep clears the mind of waste just as a “dishwasher” cleans dirty plates and glasses, just-published research suggests — and there’s more.
The findings also offer insights into how sleeping pills may disrupt the “brainwashing” system — potentially affecting cognitive function for people over the long run.
ANOTHER REASON TO GET MORE SLEEP AND THIS ONE MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
Study senior author professor Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen said norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone) triggers blood vessels to contract — generating slow pulsations that create a rhythmic flow in the surrounding fluid to carry away waste, news agency SWNS noted.
Said Nedergaard, “It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain. . . . We’re essentially asking what drives this process and trying to define restorative sleep based on” this “glymphatic clearance.”
“It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain.” (iStock)
The brain has a built-in waste removal process – the glymphatic system – that circulates fluid in the brain and spinal cord to clear out waste, according to the scientists.
The process helps remove toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
But the scientists indicated that what drives the system was unclear until now, according to the study.
Is all sleep created equal? The researchers wanted to find out.
To find clues, Nedergaard and her team looked into what happens in mice when their brains sleep, as SWNS reported of the study. The team focused on the relationship between norepinephrine and blood flow during deep sleep.
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They found that norepinephrine waves correlate to variations in brain blood volume — suggesting that norepinephrine triggers a rhythmic pulsation in the blood vessels. The researchers then compared the changes in blood volume to brain fluid flow.
The brain fluid flow fluctuates in correspondence to blood volume changes, suggesting the vessels act as pumps to propel the surrounding brain fluid to flush out waste.
During deep sleep, toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease are removed, scientists say in a new study. (iStock)
Natalie Hauglund of the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oxford, the study’s lead author, said, “You can view norepinephrine as [the] conductor of an orchestra.”
She added, “There’s a harmony in the constriction and dilation of the arteries, which then drives the cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to remove the waste products.”
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Hauglund said she wanted to understand whether all sleep is created equal.
To find out, the research team administered zolpidem, a common drug to aid sleep, to mice.
“If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.”
They found that the norepinephrine waves during deep sleep were 50% lower in zolpidem-treated mice than in naturally sleeping mice.
Although the zolpidem-treated mice fell asleep more quickly — fluid transport into the brain dropped more than 30%, as SWNS reported.
Two new studies indicate the importance of getting a good night’s sleep — with one study saying a lack of sleep may be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay. (iStock)
The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Cell, suggest that the sleeping aid may disrupt the norepinephrine-driven waste clearance during sleep.
Hauglund said, “More and more people are using sleep medication, and it’s really important to know if that’s healthy sleep. If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.”
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The research team said the findings likely apply to humans, who also have a glymphatic system, although it requires further testing.
Nedergaard added, “Now we know norepinephrine is driving the cleaning of the brain, we may figure out how to get people a long and restorative sleep.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Meanwhile, a lack of sleep may be doing more damage than just making people groggy.
It could be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay.
Anyone who suffers from sleep deprivation may find that the brain’s defense against unwanted memories is weakened, say experts. (iStock)
Another new study, this one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sleep deprivation weakens the brain’s defense against unwanted memories, allowing them to flood the mind, according to the New York Post.
“We show that sleep deprivation disrupts prefrontal inhibition of memory retrieval, and that the overnight restoration of this inhibitory mechanism is associated with time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep,” the scientists said.
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