Actor Bruce Willis Diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia - Expert Insights and Information on the Disease

    Photo: Bruce Willis in 2018.

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On Friday, October 11, 2019, Bruce Willis attends a film premiere in New York. Nearly a year after his family announced that he would retire from acting due to aphasia, Bruce Willis' family says his "condition has progressed." Willis' family said in a statement released on Thursday that he has frontotemporal dementia.

According to a statement released by his family on Thursday, actor Bruce Willis has been given a dementia diagnosis after initially being given an aphasia diagnosis last spring.

Willis has frontotemporal dementia, which can involve aphasia and cause difficulties with speaking and writing, to be more precise.

Regrettably, according to his family, communication problems are only one of Bruce's disease symptoms. Although unpleasant, having a definitive diagnosis is a comfort.

Last year, Willis's family announced that the actor would end his long-running profession due to his poor cognitive ability.

Frontotemporal dementia: what is it?

According to the Alzheimer's Association, frontotemporal dementia, often known as FTD, is one of numerous varieties of dementia that causes nerve damage in the frontal and temporal lobes, which results in a loss of function in those regions.

Several frontotemporal dementia subtypes exist. The parts of the brain that regulate empathy, judgment, and behavior experience nerve loss due to behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

The brain areas responsible for speaking, writing and comprehending weaken in primary progressive aphasia. Symptoms usually appear before age 65; however, they can appear later.

FTD can impair movement and motor function, making it similar to Lou Gehrig's disease, often known as ALS.

What distinguishes FTD from Alzheimer's?

FTD is often diagnosed between 40 and 60, whereas Alzheimer's is diagnosed later in life. Furthermore, hallucinations, memory loss, and problems with spatial orientation, such as getting lost, are more strongly associated with Alzheimer's.

Diagnoses and treatments

FTD is diagnosed by doctors using brain imaging techniques like MRIs. The findings are examined along with a patient's medical background and symptoms. There are no recognized risk factors for frontotemporal degeneration, which affects 30% of patients by inheritance.

Although there are drugs that temporarily reduce symptoms, the condition eventually worsens with time.