What is frontotemporal dementia, this disorder from which Bruce Willis suffers?

in collaboration with

Dr Christophe de Jaeger (Longevity and geriatrics)

Sixth Sense, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, the Fifth Element… Bruce Willis’ cinematographic successes are numerous. At 67, the actor has had a great career. From now on, he must unfortunately face the disease.

Affected by aphasia, a few months ago

Almost a year ago, in March 2022, the actor had to leave the film sets due to his state of health, in particular due to aphasia. This disorder prevented him from expressing himself properly. From now on, he knows the name of the pathology which affects him and his relatives have chosen to communicate the evolution of his state of health, “relieved to finally have a clear diagnosis“: “Bruce disease has progressed and we now have a more accurate diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia. Unfortunately, the communication difficulties are only a symptom of the disease that Bruce faces” indicate his ex-wife Demi Moore, his current wife Emma Heming Willis and their daughters.

What is frontotemporal dementia?

As its name suggests, frontotemporal dementia affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. ” There Alzheimer’s disease affects the temporal lobes, seat of immediate memory. Here in the case of this dementia, the location is more extensive and also affects the frontal lobes First of all, explains Dr. Christophe de Jaeger, physiologist and member of the Doctissimo committee of experts.

“The symptomatology will therefore be different, with behavioral disorders, impaired judgment, inappropriate behaviors… It evolves with ups and downs“This dementia, which also causes difficulty in speaking or moving, is therefore a neurodegenerative disease that is difficult to treat.”Today, there is no cure for this disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years to come.“said the family of Bruce Willis.

A desire to raise awareness of the disease

Bruce Willis therefore has little chance of curing this dementia. But his family, far from wanting to hide the state of health of the actor, on the contrary wished to disseminate the information. A more detailed press release was published on the website of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration: “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 since getting a diagnosis can take years, FTD is probably much more common than we know.“.

Those close to the American star hope that “as Bruce’s condition progresses, we hope the media will focus on bringing this disease to light, which needs much more awareness and research“. A way to give actor Bruce Willis one last role to play.