‘Rapid drop in blood sugar levels’ preliminary diagnosis behind Moscow protest leader Navalny’s illness – medical team leader
Alexey Navalny may have experienced a rapid drop in blood sugar levels during a flight on Thursday, leading to him losing consciousness. That's according to the chief doctor at the Omsk medical facility where he is being treated.
Dr Alexander Murakhovsky added that doctors have refused to allow the activist to be evacuated by plane to Germany because "this [metabolic] instability can increase during takeoff and landing."
“Today, we have worked out diagnoses. The main one, which we are inclined to favor, is a disorder in the carbohydrate balance, that is, a metabolic disorder," he claimed on Friday afternoon. "This could be caused by a sharp drop in blood sugar, which can lead to a loss of consciousness."
The director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Ivan Zhdanov, questioned how a "metabolic imbalance" and a "blood sugar problem" could prevent the activist from being transferred to Germany.
Murakhovsky also commented on reports of a dangerous substance found on Navalny's body. He said it turned out to be material from a plastic cup or plate, dubbing it "ordinary industrial chemistry."
Earlier, his deputy, Dr Anatoly Kalinichenko, revealed that poisons or traces of them were not found in the blood or urine of the anti-corruption campaigner.
On Friday morning, Zhdanov said that police had mentioned the presence of a "deadly substance."
A plane was sent from Germany overnight to transfer the activist to a hospital there. However, by the time the jet landed at Omsk airport, doctors declared that Navalny's condition wasn't sufficiently stable for such a trip. According to Dr Kalinichenko, drops in pressure during the flight may worsen the patient's condition.
Navalny was hospitalized at an emergency facility in Omsk on Thursday after he became ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, which made an emergency landing. His associates believe he was poisoned with a substance contained in tea he consumed at Omsk airport. They insist that he should be tested and treated abroad.
The Moscow protest leader's condition improved on Friday, according to doctors, but he remains in a coma and is attached to a ventilator.
Also on rt.com German NGO sends in ambulance plane to pick up 'poisoned' Kremlin critic Navalny at Pussy Riot co-founder's requestIf you like this story, share it with a friend!
