It came as a shock to fans and colleagues a year ago when Bruce Willis announced the end of his film career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Now for the next shocking news: Willis suffers from frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of dementia. How does she show herself?
For many people, dementia is synonymous with Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. But there are also many rarer forms of dementia that often do not start with symptoms such as forgetfulness and disorientation. Instead, those affected usually have difficulties finding their way in their everyday life at the beginning of the disease.
One of the rare forms of dementia is frontotemporal dementia (FTD for short), which affects an estimated three to nine percent of people with dementia - and, as has now become known, also the 67-year-old action star Bruce Willis. Wife Emma Heming-Willis and his ex-wife Demi Moore wrote on Instagram that they have now received this more accurate diagnosis. "While this is painful, it's a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis." Communication challenges are just one symptom of the disease Bruce Willis is now facing. The Willis family said it was a "cruel disease" that many would not know, but that could affect anyone. So far there is no therapy for this form of dementia.
In the disease, nerve cells are first degraded in the forehead and temple area of the brain (fronto-temporal lobe). According to the German Alzheimer Society, many sufferers initially notice that they appear listless and irritable. Later, memory impairment occurs.
Other symptoms include changes in personality, social behavior and language skills. Those affected change their behavior in seemingly inexplicable ways and sometimes show no interest in their loved ones, for example.
Knowing that the reason for the personality change is not burnout, depression or even relationship conflicts is important for both those affected and their families, according to the German Alzheimer Society. According to their information, around 300,000 people in Germany develop dementia every year. About 60 percent of them have Alzheimer's type dementia. Around 15 percent are affected by one of the various rare forms of dementia.
