Medical Experts Reveal Possible Reasons for Bruce Willis’ Diagnosis of Frontotemporal Dementia

Hollywood action superstar Bruce Willis announced his early retirement from acting in February 2023 due to aphasia. On Feb. 17, Emma Heming Willis, Bruce Willis’s wife, posted on Instagram stating that after further medical diagnosis, Bruce Willis was confirmed with frontotemporal dementia. Unfortunately, communication difficulties are only one of the symptoms of the brain disorder. Born in West Germany in 1955, Bruce Willis has starred in dozens of Hollywood blockbusters, including “Pulp Fiction,” “The Fifth Element,” and “Unbreakable,” since the 1980s. Willis’ character role of John McClane in “Die Hard” is famous worldwide. What is Frontotemporal Dementia? Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the slow-progressing neurodegenerative diseases. It is a general terminology for various brain diseases that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These brain areas are usually connected to personality, behavior, and language. Frontotemporal dementia can be misdiagnosed as a mental illness or Alzheimer’s disease. It usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 65, but can also occur later in life. Frontotemporal dementia was first mentioned by Czech psychiatrist Dr. Arnold Pick in 1892. Pick described a patient with early-onset dementia with aphasia, and after an autopsy, it was found that the left temporal lobe had shrunk (atrophied). Types of Frontotemporal Disorders 1. Behavioral Mutant Frontotemporal Dementia People with behavioral mutant frontotemporal dementia often exhibit the following: difficulty in sequencing, planning steps of events, or prioritizing tasks or activities; repeating behaviors or speech compulsively; acting and speaking impulsively and inappropriately without considering others’ feelings or consequences; sudden loss of interest or care for activities and loved ones; and challenges in verbal and physical communication over time. 2. Primary Progressive Aphasia Primary progressive aphasia is a neurological syndrome that affects the ability to communicate. This may include difficulty using or understanding words (aphasia), speaking, reading, writing correctly, and loss of speech. Many people with progressive aphasia display symptoms of dementia. Issues of memory, reasoning, and judgment may not be obvious at first, but will eventually develop and become more evident over time. As the disease progresses, some patients with progressive aphasia may have noticeable behavioral changes, similar to frontotemporal dementia. That is because the deterioration caused by the disease affects more brain areas. 3. Motor Disorder When the brain area that controls movement is affected, FTD patients will also suffer from neuromotor conditions, impacting thinking and language ability. Dementia and Frontotemporal Dementia Long-Term Prognosis Qian Zhengping, deputy director of Beitou Health Management Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, pointed out that the cause of dementia may not only be limited to aging. And not everyone who gets old will have dementia. Dementia is not a disease. Instead, it is a term for a group of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders affecting the brain. Studying the underlying causes, dementia is a continuous cognitive decline disorder caused by cerebral nerve disease, systemic diseases, or the use of drugs or addictive substances. Qian said that dementia might not be detected in the early stage. “If you don’t pay special attention to it, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as normal aging, which can delay medical treatment, causing more difficulty in maintaining dementia conditions.” Ryoichi Nakahara, a medical doctor at the University of Tokyo in Japan, told The Epoch Times on Mar. 3 that there is no radical cure for frontotemporal dementia, and patients can only take drugs to slow down the symptoms caused by it to improve their quality of life. Nakahara said: “Generally speaking, a healthy living environment is essential for frontotemporal dementia patients, such as brightness, pleasure, safety, and stability. These criteria may improve patients’ symptoms. Patients can also include some simple aerobic exercises in their daily routine, following regular work and rest schedules, such as bathing, eating, and sleeping at regular hours, to enhance patients’ memory.”