Does President Trump have Alzheimer's disease?

[barbos]

Forgetting stuff does not necessarily mean anything. It's forgetting stuff you are not supposed to forget you need to worry about - relatives, your name, where you live, etc. Forgetting where you put keys means you are a human. And forgetting stuff you are not supposed to forget is something you yourself as a patient will notice and realize you have a problem.

Forgetting that your wife is on a trip with you and standing right next to you at that moment?

That's unusual but this is a short memory faults. Not recognizing her would be serious indication.

 

[barbos]

I mostly have my doubts about such accusations, and really, I don't find it very helpful in getting us out of this predicament we're in, either. There is one exception that makes me wonder. Look up some Trump's interviews from the 80's and 90's. He almost strikes one as well, not quite stupid in comparison to how he is today.

I agree, he looks almost normal in ones I saw, but that was a time when he would use assumed names to call reporters and talk about himself.
So he was not normal back then.

 

[southernhybrid]

I've cared for people with AD for several decades. The thing about AD is that it develops long before there are obvious symptoms. And, most of us suffer some cognitive decline with age, which doesn't mean we will end up with AD. Trump certainly suffers from some age related cognitive decline, but at this point, I don't think we can diagnose him as having AD. He's supposed to have a physical soon. If it's complete, it should include some of the tests, like the mini mental exam, and if we really want to know if his brain is affected with AD, a brain scan or an MRI might be helpful.

To me, his behavior fits the pattern of someone who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and he also exhibits some symptoms of bipolar disorder, mostly what appears to be hypomania. Sometimes it looks like full blown mania. Regardless of the diagnosis, the man is obviously mentally unfit to do the job. Unfortunately, some of the members of his cult will never see it, and the Republicans in Congress are happy to tell him he's the greatest president ever, so they can get the bills they want passed.

 

[barbos]

By the way, I read his father had dementia. And Alzheimer is largely genetic and other types of dementia could be too. Still I don't believe forgetting to sign a bill and Melania being on a plane is an indication of anything. The guy's brain is preoccupied with other more important stuff like being mad at CNN and feuding with people on twitter.

 

[Opoponax]

It sounds to me like barbos is ignoring the very evidence before his eyes. I'd say barbos is in denial.

Yes, Cheeto Benito started out as an ignorant, arrogant asshole shitgibbon, but he has still shown considerable degradation in the ability to be coherent at all times.

He does not show any noticeable degradation over the last 15 years. Whatever he has (and he does have it) it's not Alzheimer.

Yeah.

My memory isn't as sharp and it doesn't access things as rapidly as it used to, but that's just something that comes with age for almost everyone.

Trump's incoherence is more easily explainable by him being a lifetime bullshitter who could simply make shit up on the spot without ever being called on it. Put him in his element, and his bullshit may even be passable. That is, get him talking about hotel development or TV appearances, and he could probably riff coherently about it all day long. But in his current position, he so doesn't know what the fuck he's doing that his bullshitter act, rather than providing anything convincing, instead just looks like the ramblings of a narcissistic lunatic.

Reporters and others seem to have this odd expectation that Trump understands what's going on around him. That is, they expect the President of the United States to have a firm grasp of foreign and domestic policy, legal limitations, and the ability to cerebrally interpret complex things. What they should expect is what they've been getting: an old bullshitter who, like tens of millions of other Americans, gets their information from Fox News.

 

[barbos]

Alzheimer's disease accounts for up to 50% to 70% of cases of dementia.[2][3] The most common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are short-term memory loss and word-finding difficulties. People with Alzheimer's disease also have trouble with visual-spatial areas (for example, they may begin to get lost often), reasoning, judgment, and insight. Insight refers to whether or not the person realizes he/she has memory problems.

OK I was wrong about short term memory loss not being a symptom. But they only count important short memory loss like "taking a pill" or "knowing where you are". In case of Trump, signing a bill is not important part of signing a bill, important part which he did not forget is looking important on TV. Also wikipedia says you don't really last with Alzheimer that long - 10 years max. My bet he does not have it (yet), he is just incredibly stupid.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

To me, his behavior fits the pattern of someone who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and he also exhibits some symptoms of bipolar disorder, mostly what appears to be hypomania. Sometimes it looks like full blown mania.

I've noticed this as well.

But bipolar with hypomania typically does not associate with extreme vanity. Usually it's just the opposite where personal hygiene suffers. That he thoughtlessly alienates those around him does fit well, however.

I do not see dementia in the man. But he is characteristically Reagan so I think he will go this route.

 

[Malintent]

I've cared for people with AD for several decades. The thing about AD is that it develops long before there are obvious symptoms. And, most of us suffer some cognitive decline with age, which doesn't mean we will end up with AD. Trump certainly suffers from some age related cognitive decline, but at this point, I don't think we can diagnose him as having AD. He's supposed to have a physical soon. If it's complete, it should include some of the tests, like the mini mental exam, and if we really want to know if his brain is affected with AD, a brain scan or an MRI might be helpful.

To me, his behavior fits the pattern of someone who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and he also exhibits some symptoms of bipolar disorder, mostly what appears to be hypomania. Sometimes it looks like full blown mania. Regardless of the diagnosis, the man is obviously mentally unfit to do the job. Unfortunately, some of the members of his cult will never see it, and the Republicans in Congress are happy to tell him he's the greatest president ever, so they can get the bills they want passed.

My father has been a practicing psychoanalyst for over 50 years and has said the same... specifically, Hypomania and narcissistic personality disorder. He also went as far to say that he is indeed a danger to others in the position he is currently in.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

To me, his behavior fits the pattern of someone who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and he also exhibits some symptoms of bipolar disorder, mostly what appears to be hypomania. Sometimes it looks like full blown mania.

I've noticed this as well.

But bipolar with hypomania typically does not associate with extreme vanity. Usually it's just the opposite where personal hygiene suffers. That he thoughtlessly alienates those around him does fit well, however.

I do not see dementia in the man. But he is characteristically Reagan so I think he will go this route.

It is very difficult to diagnose someone's mental faculties based on limited social exposure. We know he is a chronic liar and a clinical narcissist. His mental status, however, seems much harder to grasp.

One thought on the street is that he spoke much better 30 years ago. But if we look back at how he spoke, his words these days are the same. He was very into hyperbole and self-adulation. That hasn't changed. He continues massive promises and taking credit when not due.

The biggest problem with Trump is his lack of (and desire to obtain) overall knowledge. As President, there are so many things going on. It becomes hard to fake it. We saw this with W. And now with Trump, we have a guy that wants to pretend he is on top of everything, in the bestest big league way... but clearly isn't. I still think the Emperor's New Clothes are really the better diagnosis. The guy isn't suited for this office and his interviews, his speaking, it all shows this.

He could very well not be mentally ill, but he is certainly in over his head at this job and his narccissism forbids acknowledging that.

 

[Elixir]

It is very difficult to diagnose someone's mental faculties based on limited social exposure.

Every test for trump mental faculties has come back negative.

 

[J842P]

The biggest problem with Trump is his lack of (and desire to obtain) overall knowledge. As President, there are so many things going on. It becomes hard to fake it. We saw this with W. And now with Trump, we have a guy that wants to pretend he is on top of everything, in the bestest big league way... but clearly isn't. I still think the Emperor's New Clothes are really the better diagnosis. The guy isn't suited for this office and his interviews, his speaking, it all shows this.

He could very well not be mentally ill, but he is certainly in over his head at this job and his narccissism forbids acknowledging that.

I agree. While dementia is certainly not something one can rule out, what I think one can say with confidence is that the guy is serial bullshitter. Hell, to his credit he might be the greatest bullshitter in American history. That, or maybe he was simply lucky to encounter a particularly incompetent political class (on both sides of the aisle) at the right time in history.

I think Sam Harris nails it with regards to Trump:

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yBGE80covk[/YOUTUBE]

"Completely rudderless intellectually."

"The guy seems to be bullshitting to a degree that borders on confabulation."

"When I hear Trump speak, extemporaneously, I hear someone getting prompted by their own misstatements to complete a thought in a way he clearly didn't intend to".

Another thing I read reported about him is that he barely sleeps at all. Certainly that would explain a lot.

 

[laughing dog]

It is very difficult to diagnose someone's mental faculties based on limited social exposure.

Every test for trump mental faculties has come back negative.

Yeah, and those faculties are tenured, so they are hell to eliminate.

 

[Elixir]

Another thing I read reported about him is that he barely sleeps at all. Certainly that would explain a lot.

Or conversly, that too could be related to alzheimers.

"Many people with Alzheimer's wake up more often and stay awake longer during the night."

 

[Toni]

Another thing I read reported about him is that he barely sleeps at all. Certainly that would explain a lot.

Or conversly, that too could be related to alzheimers.

"Many people with Alzheimer's wake up more often and stay awake longer during the night."

Many older people wake up more often and stay awake longer at night.

I'm sorry but I am a bit skeptical of the statistics claiming that 60-80 percent of all dementia is Alzheimer's. Frankly, that's just a guess as the only definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's is by autopsy of the brain. Such postmortem exams are rarely performed on elderly patients, especially those living in nursing homes or otherwise known to be suffering from declining health and loss of cognitive function. Sure, it's nice to have a name to call it and I'm sure it helps drive donations for Alzheimer's research--a worthy cause! But not all dementia is Alzheimer's.

I agree that Trump has the mental disorders mentioned by others upthread: narcissism, possibly bipolar disorder, etc. I also agree that there is an obvious decline in his mental functioning. I've listened, fairly recently, to recordings of interviews he gave in the 90's: Yes, he had a huge ego and yes, he seemed a bit...hyperbolic in much of what he said, but really he sounded like a fairly intelligent, fairly self important, very confident business man. I'm sure I disagreed with most of what he had to say--no huge surprise. But his vocabulary was that of a reasonably educated person and the ideas he expressed were complex and well developed for a television or radio interview. He was coherent and his remarks were cogent.

This is rarely the case these days. On the off cases where he does not sound significantly impaired, I always figure he has been well rested, appropriately medicated and fed recently and has prepared comments and a stern warning to stick to the script.

I also think that much of this is exaggerated for its value as a distraction from the true harm that is being done to this country and this planet every moment of every day by his administration, with the full support of the Republican party and even some of the Democratic party who want to milk the outrage for donations. Which is even worse than if he is truly that mentally incompetent and unstable.

There is almost certainly some level of dementia and some significant mental illness. He is not stable. He is in an extremely high profile, high stress position which is challenging to the faculties of all holders of his office and similar ones across the planet. He is not up to the task he has been awarded.

Yes, I detest the man and almost everything that comes out of his mouth but that's not the point. He is dangerously unfit for office. The Republican party is complicit and increasingly, so are the Democrats.

Pence is really not a better choice.

Ryan is not a better choice.

Neither seems to have dementia but neither has any better moral compass or greater integrity. At this point, without integrity, being slightly better than a sick, demented old man is not much of an improvement.

I am hoping that the midterm elections will bring some real hope of a return to sanity. Otherwise, we are all fucked royal.

 

[RavenSky]

Another thing I read reported about him is that he barely sleeps at all. Certainly that would explain a lot.

Or conversly, that too could be related to alzheimers.

"Many people with Alzheimer's wake up more often and stay awake longer during the night."

Many older people wake up more often and stay awake longer at night.

I'm sorry but I am a bit skeptical of the statistics claiming that 60-80 percent of all dementia is Alzheimer's. Frankly, that's just a guess as the only definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's is by autopsy of the brain. Such postmortem exams are rarely performed on elderly patients, especially those living in nursing homes or otherwise known to be suffering from declining health and loss of cognitive function. Sure, it's nice to have a name to call it and I'm sure it helps drive donations for Alzheimer's research--a worthy cause! But not all dementia is Alzheimer's.

I agree that Trump has the mental disorders mentioned by others upthread: narcissism, possibly bipolar disorder, etc. I also agree that there is an obvious decline in his mental functioning. I've listened, fairly recently, to recordings of interviews he gave in the 90's: Yes, he had a huge ego and yes, he seemed a bit...hyperbolic in much of what he said, but really he sounded like a fairly intelligent, fairly self important, very confident business man. I'm sure I disagreed with most of what he had to say--no huge surprise. But his vocabulary was that of a reasonably educated person and the ideas he expressed were complex and well developed for a television or radio interview. He was coherent and his remarks were cogent.

This is rarely the case these days. On the off cases where he does not sound significantly impaired, I always figure he has been well rested, appropriately medicated and fed recently and has prepared comments and a stern warning to stick to the script.

I also think that much of this is exaggerated for its value as a distraction from the true harm that is being done to this country and this planet every moment of every day by his administration, with the full support of the Republican party and even some of the Democratic party who want to milk the outrage for donations. Which is even worse than if he is truly that mentally incompetent and unstable.

There is almost certainly some level of dementia and some significant mental illness. He is not stable. He is in an extremely high profile, high stress position which is challenging to the faculties of all holders of his office and similar ones across the planet. He is not up to the task he has been awarded.

Yes, I detest the man and almost everything that comes out of his mouth but that's not the point. He is dangerously unfit for office. The Republican party is complicit and increasingly, so are the Democrats.

Pence is really not a better choice.

Ryan is not a better choice.

Neither seems to have dementia but neither has any better moral compass or greater integrity. At this point, without integrity, being slightly better than a sick, demented old man is not much of an improvement.

I am hoping that the midterm elections will bring some real hope of a return to sanity. Otherwise, we are all fucked royal.

^^^^ All of that!!

 

[lpetrich]

Dementia Types | Signs, Symptoms, & Diagnosis lists several kinds, as does Senile Dementia - Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, about 60 - 80% of all cases, while vascular dementia is about 10% or maybe 20%. Some cases of dementia are mixed, meaning the presence of multiple causes. "Recent studies suggest that mixed dementia is more common than previously thought." About vascular dementia,

Impaired judgment or ability to make decisions, plan or organize is more likely to be the initial symptom, as opposed to the memory loss often associated with the initial symptoms of Alzheimer's. Occurs from blood vessel blockage or damage leading to infarcts (strokes) or bleeding in the brain. The location, number and size of the brain injury determines how the individual's thinking and physical functioning are affected.

So vascular dementia may be a better fit for DT than Alzheimer's disease.

From the second link, dementia in general has this progression:

Early:

• Forgetting recent events (distant memories also fade as the disease progresses)
• Experiencing difficulty in reasoning, calculation, and accepting new things
• Becoming confused over time, place and direction
• Impaired judgment
• Changes in personality
• Becoming passive and losing initiative

Middle:

• Losing cognitive ability, such as the ability to learn, judge, and reason
• Becoming emotionally unstable, and easily losing temper or becoming agitated
• Needing help to simply live from day to day
• Confusing night and day; disturbing others' normal sleeping time

Late:

• Losing all cognitive ability
• Becoming entirely incapable of self-care, including eating, bathing, and so on
• Neglecting personal hygiene
• Incontinence
• Losing weight gradually
• Walking unsteadily and becoming confined to bed

 

[lpetrich]

The Video That Suggests Trump Is Suffering from Alzheimer's | Alternet
Mentions Ronald Reagan's mental deterioration was noticeable long before he was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease:

By his second term, Reagan’s speech showed a deep drop-off in the use of unique words; a marked increase in the use of non-specific nouns (thing, something, anything); an uptick in filler words (well, so, basically, actually, literally, um, ah); and a greater use of low-imageability, high frequency verbs (get, give, go, have, do).

Trump seems to have parallels in all these areas. He has become notorious for his word salads, incomprehensible soliloquies delivered at the speaking level of a fourth-grader. He frequently falls back on words like “tremendous” and often drags on without using specifics. Trump often speaks at length while saying nothing.

Then his lapses of memory, a symptom of Alzheimer's disease:

Remember when Trump couldn't locate his car, which was parked directly in front of him? When he forgot which country he’d just bombed? When it just slipped his mind to sign a pair of executive orders during an event created for that explicit purpose? When he again—a second time—nearly forgot to sign an executive order until he was reminded by Mike Pence? When he couldn’t locate Rudy Giuliani, who was sitting directly across from him at a media briefing? Those things don’t seem like innocuous senior moments.

Trump also seems to exhibit other signs of Alzheimer's listed by health organizations. Moodiness, paranoia, belligerence and erratic behavior are all key indicators of the onset of dementia. Trump’s inappropriate tweets, his belief that his phones are tapped and his quickness to anger, as described by his staff, all fit the bill.

While his symptoms fit Alzheimer's disease, those symptoms may also fit dementias with similar symptoms. His father was reportedly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, something that tips the scale further in that direction.

 

[lpetrich]

Does the President Have Dementia? Trump’s Stubbornness Could Be a Sign of ‘Severe Cognitive Decline' | Alternet My OP's first link was to Charles Pierce's article in Esquire magazine about him.

Pierce explained that his father and all of his father’s siblings have succumbed to Alzheimer’s Disease over the last 30 years. The president’s speech patterns and his stubborn clinging to a few simple ideas remind Pierce of the same decline he saw in members of his family.

About his incoherence,

“To my ears, anyway, this is more than the president’s well-known allergy to the truth. This is a classic coping mechanism employed when language skills are coming apart,” he explained, which is why Trump repetitively uses the same pairing of adjectives and nouns, as in “the failing New York Times” and “Crooked Hillary.”

In effect, his talent for bullshitting is good for trying to hide evidence of deterioration of linguistic skills.

 

[barbos]

Trump by his second term as POTUS :

 

[dendrast]

My dad died of concussion-related dementia thirteen years after being diagnosed. (He played pro-football in the early fifties.)

Maybe Mr Trump is just stunned. (Sorry Dad.)