Health Conditions / Neurological Health / Alzheimer’s Disease

Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia (FTD), his family confirmed in a statement on Thursday. “For your kindness, and because we know you love Bruce as much as we do, we wanted to give you an update,” the statement said. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a specific diagnosis.” (Aphasia is a neurological disorder that impacted Willis’s cognitive abilities.)“For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia,” the statement, which was published by the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), continued, “and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know.”The statement—signed by Willis’s five children, ex-wife Demi Moore, and current wife Emma Heming Willis—said the 67-year-old actor is having difficulty communicating, which is one possible symptom of FTD. The condition causes anywhere between 10 to 20% of dementia cases, according to the Mayo Clinic. Here’s what you should know about the spectrum of symptoms, as well as what treatment for FTD typically looks like.  Instagram contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.What are the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia?According to the Alzheimer’s Association (AA), FTD is a group of disorders that cause nerve cell damage in the brain’s frontal lobes (which are behind the forehead) and the temporal lobes (which are behind the ears). This can lead to difficulties in using or understanding written or spoken language, as well as deterioration in a person’s behavior and personality, which can include a lack of judgment, apathy, and compulsions, among other changes. (This is one reason why FTD can sometimes be misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder, per the Mayo Clinic.)Prominent behavioral and personality changes are usually associated with the most common type of FTD, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, whereas difficulty speaking, writing, and comprehending language is usually associated with the second most common form, primary progressive aphasia. (The family statement did not specify which form of FTD Willis was diagnosed with.)

It’s funny because I’m getting this bittersweet relationship that I’ve always wanted with her—but she’s not the same mommy that I knew growing up. But I’m just thankful that she’s here, and that I know that she loves me. Deep down, she knows that I’m here for her too. I’ve asked her, “Do you know that I love you?” She said, “Yes, because of how you take care of me.” That’s all I wanted to hear my whole life.Did your relationship shift pretty quickly because she was in this new, vulnerable situation?Absolutely. A mentor I had at the time told me, “You’ve got to talk to her about the past, even if you don’t think she understands.” We had a really good conversation, where I said, “These things hurt me when I was a little girl, and I don’t know if I hurt you, but I’m sorry if I did.” It was a beautiful, necessary moment of forgiveness for us. I know that I couldn’t have cared for her in a healthy manner, had I not released that.These days she can’t really communicate the way she wants to. But I feel that deep in her heart, she forgives me, and I forgive her for anything we had going on that was toxic. We’re just living in the moment and being grateful to have each other. I’ve never been more proud to be her daughter.We love that your Instagram captures the joyful moments you find together while you’re caregiving too. Has your mom’s decline in language affected the types of things you like to do as mother and daughter?I still take her out. We went to Mastro’s Steakhouse the other day for her birthday! We still have movie nights, we go to the nail salon. She gets massages from a company called Manly Handz—her arms are really tight, but every time they come, all of a sudden they can stretch out. And she loved those men, honey! I try to do things that I know she’d be doing if she was in 100% good health.A caregiver plays many roles—driver, scheduler, shopper, and of course, home health aide. How did you prepare to take on all these responsibilities?My best friend Latrice, the director of nursing at a hospital in Memphis, did CPR training with me twice. Friends who are nurses and doctors taught me how to change a draw sheet [a small folded sheet that can be easily removed from underneath someone or used to help lift them] and explained, “This is how you would turn her and keep her clean,” so Momma doesn’t have bed sores.I would go to hospitals and ask to see their equipment and which type of mattress they used. I’d sit on the bed and examine everything to see how it worked. Then a friend and I would shop around L.A. to find the equivalent. Thank God P-Valley came right in time after the GoFundMe had run out because I was barely eating. I had just enough for Momma to eat, and friends were literally cooking for us and bringing food over.

On Wednesday, Bruce Willis’s family confirmed that he has been diagnosed with aphasia. As a result, the 67-year-old is stepping back from his longtime Hollywood acting career because of how the disorder has impacted his cognitive capacities.“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family, we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues,” the Willis family said in an Instagram statement posted to their respective accounts. Willis “has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” according to the caption, which accompanies a throwback photo of Willis. “As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.” Willis’s family is sticking together during this difficult period and is grateful for the kindness of the actor’s many fans. “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support,” they write. The note is collectively signed by Willis’s wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore, and five daughters: Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn Willis. Instagram contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.What is aphasia, exactly? Aphasia is a disorder resulting from damage to areas of the brain responsible for language, impacting the ability to understand speech, express oneself, read, and write, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It typically starts abruptly after a stroke or head injury causes brain cells in regions that control language functions to die, the NIDCD explains. Aphasia can also develop gradually due to a slow-growing brain tumor or degenerative neurological condition (like Alzheimer’s disease). The signs, symptoms, and severity of aphasia depend on the exact location and extent of the brain damage. There are four main types, according to the National Library of Medicine, each with the potential to affect one’s language abilities differently. In expressive aphasia, the person knows what they want to express but has difficulty doing so (via speech or writing). In receptive aphasia, the person is unable to comprehend the words they hear or read. In anomic aphasia, the person struggles to use the right word for nouns (like objects and places). And in global aphasia, the person is incapable of speaking, comprehending speech, reading, or writing.