{"id":49061,"date":"2017-10-27T05:27:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T05:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=49061"},"modified":"2017-10-27T05:27:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T05:27:43","slug":"medical-condition-may-explain-george-h-w-bushs-recent-lapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/medical-condition-may-explain-george-h-w-bushs-recent-lapses.html","title":{"rendered":"Medical condition may explain George H.W. Bush’s recent lapses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Medical condition may explain George H.W. Bush’s recent lapses<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Medical condition may explain George H.W. Bush’s recent lapses:- A medical condition might explain Former President George H.W. Bush\u2019s recent behavior, according to several doctors who are familiar with the condition but not with the President\u2019s case or care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bush, 93, who has used a wheelchair for the last five years, has recently been accused of groping several women when he was posing for photographs with them. His office today released a statement saying that the touching and a joke that he has told repeatedly was not meant to be inappropriate. The statement offered an apology to anyone who was offended.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bush has been diagnosed with a rare condition known as vascular Parkinsonism, which is generally believed to be caused by small strokes that damage the same brain structures as are affected in Parkinson\u2019s Disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that the strokes or other damage to his brain might explain why he acted inappropriately \u2013 and seemingly out of character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any damage to the frontal lobes, the part of the brain right behind the forehead, can cause personality changes, executive function problems and a loss of self-control, said Dr. Alberto J. Espay, a professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati.<\/span><\/p>\n

It \u201ccould lead to behaviors that are not voluntary \u2013 not entirely under their control or volition,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

While most people with vascular Parkinsonism become introverted and withdrawn, there are \u201coutliers,\u201d said Dr. Jeff Bronstein, a neurologist and director of the Movement Disorders Program at UCLA. Such outliers \u201cbecome disinhibited and do things they wouldn\u2019t do. That\u2019s very possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vascular Parkinsonism can also cause depression, behavioral problems and memory problems, Bronstein said. It can lead to executive function problems where the person forgets the steps involved even in simple tasks like walking, Espay added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bush\u2019s perpetual, strained smile \u2013 which Espay described as \u201cabnormal grimacing\u201d \u2013 may be a side effect of the drug levodopa, used to treat Parkinson\u2019s Disease. Levodopa can also cause involuntary movements, Bronstein said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levodopa and other medications that are effective in Parkinson\u2019s Disease are \u201cof minimal benefit\u201d against vascular Parkinsonism, Bronstein said, but added that he tries most of his vascular Parkinsonism patients on the drug, and some report feeling a little better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ole Isaacson, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said medications given to patients with vascular Parkinsonism can cause hypersexuality and related behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Espay has an unconventional view of the cause of vascular Parkinsonism. He doesn\u2019t believe the data supports the idea that blood vessel damage or the accumulation of strokes lead to the condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The standard treatments for stroke, including lowering cholesterol and treating diabetes have had no effects whatsoever on vascular Parkinsonism, he said, suggesting that the symptoms would occur regardless of a person\u2019s lifestyle, and likely have a genetic cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, while patients with stroke tend to get better over time, vascular Parkinsonism symptoms progress without improvement, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, he thinks vascular Parkinsonism is likely to be caused by abnormalities in the myelin sheath, the white coating on brain cells that gives \u201cwhite matter\u201d its name. In younger people, multiple sclerosis can also affect this sheathing, which slows and disrupts brain signals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2017\/10\/26\/medical-condition-may-explain-george-h-w-bushs-recent-lapses\/804832001\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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