 | | Although former President Bill Clinton has been spotted with shaky hands, he says he's been tested for Parkinson's and doesn't have it. | |
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Does former President Bill Clinton have Parkinson's disease? Cameras captured his left hand trembling at Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral.
And his right thumb was shaking dramatically during an appearance on The Daily Show a year ago.
Clinton's tremors have led to speculation that he may have Parkinson's disease, which afflicts actor Michael J. Fox and boxing champ Muhammad Ali.
INSIDE EDITION asked Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel to look at the video of the former president.
"He doesn't seem rigid. The movement of Parkinson's is usually rigid. He doesn't seem to have that. He seems very easy about his movement."
The 63-year-old Clinton acknowledged he had shaky hands in a CNN interview last March.
"Sometimes it shakes. See, it's a little shake, but no shake here. I've been tested for it. I don't have Parkinson's."
Apparently the tremors come and go. His hands were steady when he spoke at Wednesday's memorial service for CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite.
But he does admit he was concerned about his condition.
"I was quite concerned about it because if I had Parkinson's, I wanted to know so I could prepare. And I had it tested and the doctor said, "No." He says it's just a normal aging phenomenon."
"What it appears he might have is something we call 'benign essential tremor' which is very common when you get over 65. It's completely benign and nothing to worry about," says Dr. Siegel.
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