This disorder is caused by neurodegeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain.
The family Bruce Willis has confirmed that the American actor has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
“Since we announced that Bruce had been diagnosed with aphasia in the spring of 2022, his condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementiaknown as FTD,” said a statement signed by the family of the 67-year-old actor, retired for almost a year.
What is frontotemporal dementia?
This term encompasses a series of clinical syndromes that are a consequence of neurodegeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies, according to data from the Spanish Society of Neurology. It constitutes approximately 15% of all primary degenerative dementias.
What types of frontotemporal dementia are there?
Two variants can be distinguished: primary progressive aphasias, in which language disorders predominate and problems expressing oneself, reading or writing are common; and the behavioral frontotemporal dementiasin which behavioral changes predominate and changes in personality, apathy, inappropriate behavior in public, repetitive or compulsive behaviors, etc. are common.
What are the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia?
The disease slowly gets worse. Over time, the tissues in the affected parts of the brain begin to shrink. Symptoms such as changes in behavior, speech difficulties, and deterioration in intellectual ability appear gradually. The signs and symptoms are variable, depending on the part of the brain that is affected. Some people with frontotemporal dementia experience drastic personality changes, becoming impulsive or losing empathy and emotional sensitivity. In other cases, such as that of Bruce Willis, what occurs is a progressive loss of language.
Initial personality changes can help doctors to differentiate this disorder from Alzheimer’s disease.
Usually, the onset of the disease begins in the presenile age.
How does it diagnose?
Specialists diagnose frontotemporal dementia based on clinical data and neurological and neuropsychological examinations. Due to the behavioral symptoms that it sometimes produces, the diagnosis can sometimes be confused with that of a psychiatric illness.
There are tests that improve diagnostic certainty, such as magnetic resonance imaging and PET-FDG.
Do you have treatment?
Currently there is no therapy that can cure the disease. There are certain medications and lifestyle changes that can improve some of the associated symptoms.
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