Putin Parkinson's Disease: Last week, a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin was released, which led many to claim that Putin has Parkinson's disease. What do experts say about this?
From US Senator Marco Rubio to politicians and British tabloid newspapers, there is a heated discussion in many forums around the world that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ill. Many are suspecting that Putin has either thyroid cancer or Parkinson's disease.
The speculations started when the video showed Putin holding a table very tightly. In this 12-minute video, a meeting was going on with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Putin's legs were shaking and he was sitting in a very loose posture.
There was swelling on his face too. After seeing this video, former UK Conservative Party MP Louise Mensch wrote on Twitter that the Russian President has Parkinson's disease.
Many newspapers in the UK have published news about this, in which politicians and political experts have expressed their opinion. But the opinion of any medical expert was not heard.
Health experts said Putin was not looking healthy
Health experts clearly say that it is not possible to guess just by watching the video. 'Real neurologists rarely comment on this because they are taught not to comment on people who are not their patients,' says John Hardy, a neurogeneticist at the UK Dementia Research Institute.
When Deutschevelle insisted Dr Hardy be asked what he thought about it, he said that Parkinson's was unlikely. Dr Hardy said, 'I don't think there are signs of Parkinson's.
He didn't seem to be in good health, but Parkinson's isn't. Ray Chowdhury, a neurologist who teaches at the University of London, agreed to talk about it.
"After seeing this short clip, I couldn't find any evidence to suggest that Putin has Parkinson's," he told Deutschevelle. Chowdhary explains that Parkinson's disease is very difficult to diagnose.
And it is detected only after a thorough investigation on an individual level. He said, 'There can be many reasons for the swelling and tremor on the face and I did not see any tremor.'
Parkinson's UK CEO Caroline Russell also echoed Dr Hardy's voice. He said that it is a very complex disease, which can have 40 signs, all kinds of physical and mental diseases are involved, so it is not possible to say anything about this after watching the 12-minute video.
'It affects everyone differently,' says Rasal. There is also no exact test for diagnosis and this can only be confirmed by a personal examination by a neurologist or specialist. Nothing happens by speculating in the media.