Speaking on CNN International’s “First Move” on Friday, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said doctors who have spoken with him about his reaction to last week’s presidential debate are “almost unanimous” in believing President Joe Biden needs further testing.
Gupta said, “I was actually watching the debate from overseas, and it was interesting to see that I got a lot of texts and emails and calls from other neurologists in the U.S. and around the world. A lot of people, Paula, offered their opinions on this, and I want to be very clear that these are medical opinions, they are opinions. Nobody is saying there is a diagnosis or a definitive thing, but a lot of people looked at this debate. And I don’t think what they saw was necessarily new, but … the idea that it was so pronounced and sustained for 90 minutes, I think, really caught people’s attention. Paula, there are other things that are significant from a neurological perspective, such as the reduced volume, as well as the occasional staccato speech or disorganized, incoherent speech. And the loss of facial expression can also sometimes go along with certain movement disorders, and it can affect cognition. Again, nobody is saying that these things in themselves are diagnostic of anything. But I think the almost unanimous message was that we would encourage everyone to get further testing to determine whether what we’re seeing is a temporary symptom or something more serious, something that can be diagnosed and treated.”
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