Bruce Willis is "stepping away" from acting following aphasia diagnosis

[TMC]

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/b...ia-1235219017/

The former Moonlighting star's family announced on social media that "Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. As Bruce always says, 'Live it up' and together we plan to do just that."

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Bruce Willis's condition has progressed, family says

Bruce Willis is suffering from frontotemporal dementia and the actor's condition has worsened since his aphasia diagnosis last year, his family disclosed Thursday.

Here's the full statement.

As a family, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the outpouring of love and compassion for Bruce over the past ten months. Your generosity of spirit has been overwhelming, and we are tremendously grateful for it. For your kindness, and because we know you love Bruce as much as we do, we wanted to give you an update.

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 (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.

FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know. Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.

Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that – if he could today — he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.

Ours is just one family with a loved one who suffers from FTD, and we encourage others facing it to seek out the wealth of information and support available through AFTD (@theaftd, theaftd.org). And for those of you who have been fortunate enough to not have any personal experience with FTD, we hope that you will take the time to learn about it, and support AFTD’s mission in whatever way you can.

Bruce has always found joy in life – and has helped everyone he knows to do the same. It has meant the world to see that sense of care echoed back to him and to all of us. We have been so moved by the love you have all shared for our dear husband, father, and friend during this difficult time. Your continued compassion, understanding, and respect will enable us to help Bruce live as full a life as possible.

-Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn

[rusty spike]

I hope his family finds peace because the ones who love him also suffer through this as well; in addition to Bruce.

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Here at JoBlo - we love Bruce Willis. When we heard back in March of 2022 that he was going to step back from acting due to his tragic Aphasia diagnosis, we were as shocked as everyone else, even if there were signs that things weren't great with Willis going back a number of years. His last truly prominent role was M. Night Shyamalan's Glass back in 2019, while his last lead role was in Eli Roth's Death Wish. Since then, it's been chiefly VOD movies for Willis, where his roles were secondary at best. With his recent frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, we now know the truth.

Whatever the case, we here at JoBlo Originals wish to extend our very best to the man and his family at this difficult time. But, we also wanted to take a moment to celebrate his long career, Thus, some of our staffers have shared their thoughts on how much Willis, personally, means to all of them. Speaking for myself, as the editor-and-chief of JoBlo, I can't overestimate what a profound effect the guy had on me growing up as along with Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, he was virtually a model for manhood. And, I don't mean that because he was macho. If anything, it was his vulnerability that made me appreciate him, and Willis starred in many of my favorite movies of all time, including the first three Die Hard movies, Pulp Fiction and many more.

Here are some thoughts from other folks here at JoBlo, and I urge you all to share your own sentiments in the comments below!

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Originally Posted by rusty spike

I hope his family finds peace because the ones who love him also suffer through this as well; in addition to Bruce.

Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia: Most common symptoms to be aware of

Caroline Kee
September 25, 2023 at 12:53 PM·9 min read

In honor of World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness week, Emma Heming Willis, wife of actor Bruce Willis, joined TODAY for an exclusive interview, her first on TV since her husband was diagnosed with the condition.

On Sept. 25, she sat down with TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb, along with CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration Susan Dickinson, to discuss her caregiving journey and share a brief update on Bruce Willis' health.

“Dementia is hard,” Heming Willis said on TODAY. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.”

She added that "it's hard to know" how aware Bruce Willis is of his condition.

For Heming Willis, processing her husband's diagnosis has been "the blessing and the curse," she said. “To finally understand what was happening so that I could be into the acceptance of what is — it doesn’t make it any less painful, but ... just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce makes it a little easier.”

To help others caring for a loved one with FTD, Heming Willis is releasing on her YouTube channel a new video with experts every day of World FTD Awareness Week, from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1.

Bruce Willis' family revealed in February this year that, after experiencing communication difficulty also known as aphasia, his condition had progressed into FTD, a less common type of dementia that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.

"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 (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis," the Willis family said in a statement at the time..

Here's what to know about frontotemporal dementia.

What is frontotemporal dementia?

Frontotemporal dementia refers to a group of neurodegenerative diseases that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The condition affects 15 to 22 people per 100,000 and presents sooner than most age-related brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's; the average age of symptom onset is 58, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

"Most people, when they think of the word dementia, they think problems with memory and Alzheimer's disease, but FTD doesn't really show up as problems with memory. ... It affects how people behave, how they interact with others and how they speak," says Dr. Sami Barmada, director of Michigan Brain Bank and associate professor of neurology at University of Michigan Medicine, tells TODAY.com.

It's more common among men than women, Barmada adds.

These behavior and language functions live in the front parts of the brain and the parts on the side near our temples, the temporal lobes, Barmada says. The frontal lobe is responsible for things like decision-making, judgement, movement, speaking, self-control and social skills, and the temporal lobes are responsible for hearing, understanding spoken language, memory and emotional expression, per the Cleveland Clinic. In people with FTD, these functions will be impacted as those parts of the brain progressively deteriorate.

"In the case of frontotemporal dementia, there is an abnormal accumulation of protein in the neurons or nerve cells in the brain that stops them from functioning normally," Dr. Jagan Pillai, neurologist with Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, tells TODAY.com.

These protein malfunctions occur as a result of certain mutations in our DNA, which can be spontaneous or run in families, per the Cleveland Clinic. About four out of every 10 people diagnosed with FTD have a family history, estimates Barmada.

"When (the protein buildup) starts affecting the language part of the brain, you get frontotemporal dementia with an aphasia presentation," says Pillai, adding that if the neurons are damaged in other areas of the brain, this can cause problems with behavior, personality or motor coordination.

One of the subtypes of FTD is primary progressive aphasia, according to the Cleveland Clinic. These patients have "difficulty expressing themselves, understanding what’s being spoken and figuring out the meaning of things sometimes,” says Pillai.

The most common reason people experience aphasia is a stroke, but aphasia can also occur with neurodegenerative conditions that are progressive — one of these is frontaltemporal dementia, Pillai explains, but Alzheimer’s disease can also present with aphasia.

Unlike the aphasia following a stroke, which causes a sudden loss of ability to speak, progressive aphasia often starts as mild and gets substantially worse over time, says Barmada.

What are the first signs of frontotemporal dementia?

"Not everyone shares the same symptoms. Depending on what part of the brain is primarily involved, you'll get certain symptoms," says Pillai.

The first signs of frontotemporal dementia are usually the loss of the ability to speak or understand language (aphasia), which occurs when the temporal lobes are affected by the buildup of proteins, or apathy, which occurs when the frontal lobes are affected, according to University of California, San Francisco Health.

Barmada says apathy, which he describes as "a disengagement or a lack of feeling or interest," is the most common sign of FTD. People may not enjoy the things they used to love doing or show affection for spouses in the same way, for example.

Another common, first sign of FTD is a problem with inhibition and self-control, per Cleveland Clinic. "There are things that we all say or think about, but we don't actually do — but in FTD, it's like (being) a 7-year-old again," says Barmada, adding that people may swear and say or do inappropriate things they wouldn't ordinarily do.

Symptoms of frontotemporal dementia

The symptoms of frontotemporal dementia are primarily related to language or behavior, per UCSF. These include:

• Apathy or unwillingness to talk
  
• Change in personality, such as being more depressed
  
• Lack of social awareness
  
• Obsessive behavior
  
• Difficulty speaking or finding the right word
  
• Difficulty reading and writing

"It doesn't look like a dementia or something that you can put your finger on. ... Very often you'll hear people say they just started to act really weird, and they're not the same person," Barmada says.

These personality and behavior changes may be misattributed to other mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, says Barmada. People with FTD can go a long time before their symptoms are recognized as a degenerative disease of the brain.

"We don't have the same sort of means of identifying people with FTD or a test that we can administer," says Barmada.

Frontotemporal dementia is a very challenging diagnosis to make, says Pillai, but the first step is recognizing a consistent change that can be quantified, which often requires an evaluation by a specialist like a neurologist. The next step may involve tests such as an MRI or brain scans to recognize what could be driving these changes and to rule out other conditions, such as Alzheimer's, says Pillai.

Less commonly, people with FTD can experience problems with movement or motor function, also controlled by the frontal lobe, says Pillai. FTD symptoms can occur with other conditions like Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), per the Cleveland Clinic.

How long is the life expectancy of someone with frontotemporal dementia?
The life expectancy for someone with frontotmeporal dementia depends on the parts of the brain affected, how severely they are affected and the rate of disease progression, says Pillai.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the average life expectancy after a diagnosis of FTD is 7.5 years. The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration gives a range of 7 to 13 years. Barmada says 10 years or longer is a good prognosis.

The best-case scenario is that a person with FTD is able to maintain independence and quality of life as much as possible for as long as possible, and they're not being hospitalized or having medical complications, says Pillai.

"One of the biggest factors that determines prognosis, sadly, is the level of care or the quality of care that people receive ... not just from physicians but also caregivers, family, friends," says Barmada. If someone does not have quality care, they can get into dangerous situations and their prognosis is poor, Barmada adds.

Can frontotemporal dementia be treated?

Currently, there is no cure for FTD and treatment mostly involves managing symptoms, the experts say. While there is no treatment to slow the progression of the disease, work is being done to try to change that.

"There's a lot of effort devoted to developing a treatment now more than ever. There are candidates being tested, and this is a really quickly moving area," says Barmada.

In the future, Barmada says he hopes that we will be able to both treat people who are already diagnosed with FTD and those who have the DNA mutations but have not yet developed symptoms.

"I think that this will change in the next five to 10 years ... that there will be a means of preventing it for people who have a known genetic mutation," says Barmada.

The increased awareness due to Willis' diagnosis will hopefully help the FTD community, the experts say.

"Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues," the Willis family wrote in their statement. "We know in our hearts that — if he could today — he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease."

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Moonlighting creator says Bruce Willis is “still Bruce” — and he’s "really happy" their iconic show is now available on Hulu

As a result, the timing of its Hulu premiere is bittersweet. Willis' family announced his retirement earlier this year, as his disease progressed. “I know [Bruce is] really happy that the show is going to be available for people, even though he can't tell me that,” Caron told The Post.

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Inside Bruce Willis' Life Nearly Two Years After His Dementia Diagnosis

The life of Bruce Willis has changed drastically in recent years. Once an unstoppable force in Hollywood, he has now retreated entirely from the public eye.

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What Bruce Willis Looks Like Today After His Tragic Dementia Diagnosis

Bruce Willis and his family been open about his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, and they've also offered insight into how difficult it is to deal with.

[Dude111]

I bet anything he was conned....

Very sad.....


EDIT:

I just read this... EVERYONE DENIES ITS THE SHOT THAT IS DOING THINGS TO PEOPLE,IT MAKES ME SICK!!

http://www.verificat.cat/en/bruce-wi...vid-19-vaccine

I SAY IT WAS CAUSED BY IT AND NO ONE IS GONNA TELL ME OTHERWISE!!

The idiots who conned people are sittin' back laughing at them and its very sad

[Dude111]

Its sad that he was coned.. Very sad indeed..

The idiots who conned people are sittin' back laughing at them and it makes me sick


TODD I DONT MEAN ANYTHING BAD BY THIS,IM STATING THE TRUTH... I FEEL BAD FOR BRUCE.. Please dont disrespect me buddy by removimg my reply.. Im sure you feel bad also!!

[TJ]

Please don't disrespect my wishes. I've asked you multiple times to stop making posts like this.

You're welcome to have your own opinions. We're not discussing the vaccines here.

Fact Check: No proven link between COVID-19 vaccines and aphasia

He had the symptoms for some years before 2022.

https://x.com/joerussotweets/status/1509770962656448530

Concerns about Bruce Willis’ declining cognitive state swirled around sets in recent years

It's very sad what happened to him.

[Dude111]

Well im glad your sad buddy.....

Im sorry but I cant live like this anymore... I cant stand the lies being told and people believe them! AND THEY MAKE US LOOK BAD!!

I LOST MY BEST FRIENDS BECAUSE OF THESE LIES AND I HAVE BEEN GOING THRU LIVING HELL OVER IT FOR 3 YEARS NOW


PLEASE SHOW ME SOME KINDNESS......

[TJ]

I'm sorry you lost friends because of it. You're a big boy. You got to make that decision.

Being angry and dwelling about it for the rest of your life isn't good for your mental health. You don't need to justify your choice.

[Dude111]

I love my friends buddy,I cant let them go...... Not the way this happend

Im sorry Todd..... I cant take it anymore...

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Bruce Willis is reportedly unable to speak or read and having trouble walking

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