Vladimir Putin is not showing signs of having Parkinson's disease but doesn't look very well, according to a top doctor.
The Russian despot further fuelled rumours he has the progressive nervous system disorder after a clip of him earlier this week appeared to show him suffering hand and leg tremors.
The 69-year-old - seen meeting Belarusian President and Ukraine war ally Alexander Lukashenko - also seemed to be unsteady on his feet while his thumb apparently spasmed during the 12-minute video.
Reacting to the video, Emily Deans, a medical doctor and psychiatrist in Massachusetts, US, said it was “the most abnormal video yet”.
While Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC ’s former technology correspondent, who announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the condition himself, said he believed the signs to be symptomatic of the disease.
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However, much of the commentary has been from either non-medical people or those who don't specialise in neurological conditions.
John Hardy, a neurogeneticist at the UK Dementia Research Institute, told German news platform Deutsche Welle : "Real neurologists are unlikely to comment because they are taught never to comment on people who are not their patients."
However, and while stressing the fact that he's a neurogeneticist, not a neurologist, Hardy shared his opinion on Putin's condition as someone who has studied brain diseases.
"No sign of parkinsonism in my view," he said. "He did not look well…but not Parkinson's disease."
Ray Chadhuri, a neurologist at the University of London, agreed.
"Looking at the short clip, I can find no evidence that I can tell of parkinsonism in Putin," he told DW.
He explained that Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism are difficult to diagnose and need neurological examination in person.
While Caroline Rassell, chief executive of Parkinson's UK, said it is too complex of a condition with over 40 symptoms, both physical and mental, which would be impossible to judge by such a short clip.
She also added: "It affects everyone differently."
Speculation over Putin's health has been intensified since his troops invaded fellow former Soviet nation Ukraine in February.
And some have suggested such an open and drastic move is not in-keeping with the character of the leader just a few years ago.
The former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove said his behaviour is perhaps the result of an illness.
He told GB News last month: "What’s also worrying is the speculation, and it is speculation, that maybe Putin’s behaviour, maybe his rationality is prejudiced or compromised by illness."
He said he had spoken to "several neurologists" who said "loss of restrain, psychosis, are very common Parkinson’s symptoms".
Putin also appeared to be "unsteady and distracted" during an Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
Other experts have suggested a number of theories ranging from cancer and Parkinson's to steroid-use and psychosis or a personality disorder to explain his recent behaviour.
