New Delhi

News of Bruce Willis suffering from 'untreatable' dementia has led to heartbreaks across the world. Willis was the quintessential Hollywood star, considered as one of the most bankable actors in the 1980s and early 1990s. From doing the hit TV show Moonlighting to featuring in the cult classic Die Hard, Willis was the biggest name in the film industry at one point in time and enjoyed a huge fan base. Over the years, the actor had limited his public appearances and in March 2022 he announced his retirement from acting as it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, which hampered "cognitive abilities." 

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In less than a year, Willis' family has now revealed that the actor has been diagnosed with untreatable dementia or in medical terms Frontotemporal dementia. Willis' family issued a statement on Thursday stating that they were glad that he had been properly diagnosed. 

"Since we announced Bruce's diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce's condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia," a statement said.

"Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces," the family statement said. "While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.  Bruce Willis diagnosed with 'untreatable' dementia, says family

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"Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead," the statement further stated. 

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What is Frontotemporal dementia?

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The term Frontotemporal dementia is an umbrella term to describe numerous brain disorders. The name is derived due to the nature of the illness. A disorder primarily affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain- areas that are typically associated with personality, behaviour and language. 

Due to the disorder, a portion of these lobes shrink which can affect a person's behaviour, can lead to personality changes and one can even lose the ability to use language properly. The signs and symptoms vary from person to person but in most cases, a person diagnosed with the disorder loses the ability to react to most common things and their behaviour is often considered socially inappropriate. 

Is the disorder similar to Alzheimer's?

Experts state that Frontotemporal dementia is on many occasions misdiagnosed. People are instead suggested psychiatric treatment or are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. But there is a difference. Frontotemporal dementia tends to occur at a younger age as compared to Alzheimer's disease.  Frontotemporal dementia often begins between the ages of 40 and 65 but progresses later in life as well. According to Mayo Clinic,  FTD is the cause of approximately 10% to 20% of dementia cases.

What are the symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of a person suffering from this disorder vary from person to person. It is, however, known to get worse with time- typically years. Clusters of symptom types tend to occur together, and people may have more than one cluster of symptom types.

It also leads to behavioural changes. A person can display increasingly inappropriate social behaviour, he may lose the sense of inhibition and judgment. There is a change in eating habits- one either overeats or develops a liking for sweets and carbohydrates.

There is a tendency to put things in the mouth- even inedible objects. A person also displays problems in forming sentences and leads to language and speech problems. In some cases, it leads to loss of speech.

A person may also have trouble remembering the meanings of words, trouble naming things, and possibly replacing a specific word with a more general word such as "it" for pen. 

In subsequent years, it may also lead to motor disorders which hampers a person's movement. 

Muscle spasms, twitches, tremors and rigidity and difficulty in swallowing and difficulty walking - are all symptoms of this disorder.

What leads to Frontotemporal dementia?

There are genetic mutations that have been linked to frontotemporal dementia. But more than half of the people who develop frontotemporal dementia have no family history of dementia.

There is so far no treatment for the disorder but it is believed that a person's risk of developing frontotemporal dementia is higher if there is a family history of dementia.