Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia - what is it?

Actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a radical of encephalon disorders caused by progressive nervus compartment nonaccomplishment successful the brain.

The 67-year-old was antecedently diagnosed with aphasia - which causes difficulties with code - but this has progressed and helium has been fixed a much circumstantial diagnosis, his household said.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is simply a disease. It is caused by the progressive nonaccomplishment of nervus cells successful the brain's frontal and temporal lobes. As those areas shrink it tin pb to changes successful a person's personality, behaviour and language.

This is not rather the aforesaid arsenic "dementia," which is simply a wide word that describes the symptoms of a ample fig of antithetic encephalon diseases, including Alzheimer's.

FTD is antithetic arsenic it mostly affects radical successful midlife, betwixt the ages of 45 to 65 - astir different forms are recovered successful older ages. There are antithetic types of FTD, but wide betwixt 50,000 and 60,000 person immoderate signifier of the illness successful the US.

Those tin see inappropriate societal behaviour, deficiency of judgement and being easy distracted, arsenic good arsenic centrifugal problems specified arsenic musculus weakness and tremors.

Because FTD affects people's personalities and behaviours, the upset tin beryllium misdiagnosed arsenic a psychiatric issue, according to the Mayo Clinic.

There is nary cure oregon mode to dilatory the illness down, though determination are treatments for immoderate of the symptoms. As the illness progresses, patients of frontotemporal dementia yet request full-time care. On average, radical unrecorded 8-10 years aft diagnosis, but immoderate radical unrecorded overmuch longer.

There is nary circumstantial test, truthful a diagnosis is usually made aft moving tests and eliminating different conditions.

If you're noticing subtle changes successful behaviour oregon language, scope retired to a healthcare supplier for evaluation.

The lone known hazard origin is simply a household past of the disorder.