“Bruce’s disease has progressed and we now have a more accurate diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia“, an incurable disease, said the relatives of Bruce Willis in a press release published this Thursday, February 16. In the spring of 2022, the actor had been forced to end his career because of his aphasiaa language disorder caused by damage to a specific area of the brain, particularly that controlling the expression and understanding of language.
People with global aphasia have difficulty speaking or understanding language. Depending on the areas of the brain affected, patients may have different abilities to speak and understand others. The most common type of aphasia is called Broca’s aphasia. It occurs when part of the frontal lobe, usually on the left side, is damaged. Because the damage is in the front part of the brain, people with Broca’s aphasia often also have right-sided weakness or arm and leg paralysis.
“Unfortunately, the communication difficulties are only a symptom of the disease that Bruce is facing”his family said in the statement.
What is dementia or frontotemporal degeneration (FTD)?
Frontotemporal dementia (or Pick’s disease) is a neurodegenerative disease close to Alzheimer’s disease and is the most common dementia in people under 60 years old. It affects the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain. According to’brain institute, they would affect about 6,000 patients each year. Affecting both women and men, they would represent approximately 10% of dementia cases.
It is a progressive pathology and the speed of evolution varies depending on the case. The first symptoms result in “intellectual fatigue”, or behavioral, emotional or language disorders (difficulty or inability to articulate). They appear on average between 50 and 65 years old. “In these pathologies, the cerebral areas concerned are reduced (atrophy) as a result of the death of neurons“, indicates the Institute.
How is this disorder diagnosed? “The diagnosis of this disease is often differential to rule out other dementias or psychiatric disorders. It is based on the symptoms presented by the patient during a neurological consultation. In some cases, a cerebral imaging examination by scanner or MRI is necessary to quantify the atrophy (loss of volume) of the brain.“
What are the causes of frontotemporal dementia?
About half of frontotemporal dementias are hereditary and result from a genetic mutation on certain chromosomes.
Can frontotemporal dementia be cured?
There is currently no treatment to cure FTD: the disease is incurable. Therapies are nevertheless proposed to slow the progression of the disease in patients: they are multidisciplinary and involve neurologists, neuropsychologists, speech therapists and clinical psychologists.
The average life expectancy of a patient with FTD is 7 to 13 years after the first symptoms appear.
Sources:
- brain institute
- Bruce Willis & Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD): what you need to knowThe Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration
