Best summary of Bush's case so far

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Annual Exam Gives Bush Good Marks for Health

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

Published: August 9, 2007

Though President Bush has had episodes of mild vertigo in recent

weeks, they have not interfered with his work, and he is in

excellent health, the White House said yesterday in releasing

findings from his annual medical checkup.

Related

President Bush's Physical Exam and Medical History (findlaw.com)

The bouts of unsteadiness, which were reported as having improved,

began after Mr. Bush had a viral infection in June at the Group of 8

meeting in Germany, the White House said. Such dizziness often

follows viral infections, usually of the upper respiratory tract,

and

can last a few weeks. The symptoms may be continuous or intermittent.

Mr. Bush has sinusitis and has recovered from serous otitis media,

an ear infection, in the last few days, his doctors said. The

medical

report said Mr. Bush, 61, was treated last August for a skin rash

over his left shin attributed to Lyme disease.

The White House did not disclose the diagnosis last August because

Lyme disease had not interfered with Mr. Bush's duties, as when he

temporarily turned over the powers of the presidency to Vice

President Dick Cheney when he had a colonoscopy in July. Mr. Bush's

doctors described him as " fit for duty, " a standard military phrase.

M. Stanzel, a White House spokesman, likened Mr. Bush's

episodes of imbalance to the feeling that can occur in someone who

has just gotten off a boat.

" The president goes for lengthy bike rides on narrow trails in the

woods and does not have any problems with his balance, " Mr. Stanzel

said.

Mr. Bush rearranged his schedule at the Group of 8 meeting because

he had a head cold and was not feeling well. The periods of

unsteadiness

began after that, Mr. Stanzel said.

The doctors attributed the unsteadiness to mild vestibular

neuronitis in the president's left ear. The serous otitis media was

in the right

ear and was first detected last Friday, but has since cleared up.

The sinusitis involved the right maxillary sinus.

The findings are consistent with viral illnesses that can be

followed by periods of unsteadiness for several weeks, said Dr.

G.

, the chief of ear, nose and throat medicine at NewYork-

Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital. Untreated Lyme disease can lead

to nerve damage, often involving the eighth cranial nerve, the same

one affected by vestibular neuronitis.

But Mr. Bush's doctors said they did not believe the Lyme infection

was linked to his vestibular

neuronitis because the skin lesion had not recurred.

The White House doctors evaluated Mr. Bush for Meniere's disease,

another inner ear ailment that can produce vertigo, hearing loss and

ringing in the ears. But the doctors ruled out Meniere's disease

because Mr. Bush did not have some key signs and symptoms, the White

House official said without disclosing what they were.

Dr. J. Tubb, physician to the president, and Dr.

of Dallas oversaw 11 other doctors who examined Mr. Bush in

sessions starting July 17.

Mr. Bush weighed 192 pounds, 4 pounds less than last year, a change

he attributed to " less birthday cake. "