More now on the health of actor Bruce Willis. His family revealing today that Willis is suffering from a disease called frontotemporal dementia. In a statement, they say that, quote, Since we announced versus diagnosis of aphasia in spring of 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 that Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis. I’m joined by CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Dr. Reiner, great to see you tonight. So what is frontotemporal dementia and how common is it So in frontotemporal dementia is sort of an umbrella term that describes a series of conditions that ultimately result in the loss of neural tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The frontal lobes sort of behind your forehead, the temporal lobes sort of behind your ears. Those are the parts of the brain that are involved with helping you form certain behaviors, process, hearing, form memories. And ultimately it results in clinical conditions that sometimes radically change the behavior of a patient or result in a difficulty communicate And I think last year, when Mr. Wilson’s family reported that he was suffering from aphasia, that was the first clue that he had frontotemporal dementia, which often involves some form of aphasia. What causes this It’s a disease with multiple causes. There is sometimes a genetic component of some. This can run in families. It’s a relatively rare disease seen in about 50,000 Americans. But it’s it’s probably the most common form of dementia in young people, particularly in people between the ages of 45 and 65 years of age. But overall, this type of dementia probably doesn’t account for more than about 20% of the different forms of dementia that occur in people as they age. And what are the symptoms. I mean we’ve been told by his family that he’s having communication issues and it’s been written about that. He’s been in movies recently but he was, you know, had very small parts and was sort of fed lines. Had to be Fed lines. What other symptoms Right. So that may be that he was having difficulty with memory. So as I said earlier, some people have difficulty actually in completing sentences or forming coherent thoughts. Some patients will develop outrageous behaviors, a sort of lack of any inhibition, increase in sexual activity, bizarre outbursts, particularly when the disease involves the frontal lobes. So the behavior of patients can be very disturbing to families that people can live with this disease. For you know, for years, which is sometimes a curse. What a challenge. What a challenge for the family, everything you’ve just described. Are there treatments for this disease? There’s no cure for the disease, but patients can be treated with anxiolytic drugs to treat anxiety to help calm some of the outbursts. Sometimes anti-doping lessons can help, but there is really no cure for this disease. It’s a progressive disease that ultimately will result in death But it can take many years. It really is a curse, as you describe it, because you it sounds like the body. And he’s a strong man. I mean, he’s a strong fit man. And so for his brain to be betraying him in this way will be a huge challenge right now. Dr. Reiner. And this can and this can go on. I’m sorry. Go. You can finish your son’s Now, I was going to say, you know, this can go on for many years, and it becomes it can become a tremendous burden for families to care for people affected with these conditions. Yeah, I can imagine. Dr. Reiner, it’s sad. Thank you very much for all the information. Nice to have you with us tonight. Thanks, Alisyn.
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