Suffered By Bruce Willis, These Are The Symptoms And Risk Factors Of Frontotempial Dementia

Bruce Willis (Instagram/penduproduction)

JAKARTA - A well-known Hollywood actor, Bruce Willis, suffers from front-temporal dementia, a condition that gradually cuts him off from the entertainment world. He was diagnosed in 2023, and now the disease has prevented him from speaking and is no longer able to read.

The Die Hard film star is also reported to be facing several motor difficulties. Bruce's memory skills are also getting worse and worse.

Regarding the disease that Bruce Willis is suffering from, namely front-temporal dementia (FTD) is indeed a disease that affects the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, namely the front and side brain.

Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, conditions cause disorders of the patient's personality, behavior, and language skills. Patients will also experience shrinkages in the affected part of the brain.

Unlike other types of dementia, the front-temporal dementia is prone to attacking younger people, namely 40 to 65 years old. Meanwhile, other types of dementia usually attack people aged 65 years and over.

Types Of Frontotempial Dementia

Front-temporal dementia is divided into several types. First, there is a front-variant FTD, which further affects behavior and personality.

The second type is primary progressive afampial dementia, which affects communication difficulties. This type is divided again into two, namely progressive nonfluent afasia that affects speech skills, as well as semantic dementia that affects the ability to use and understand languages.

The third type is front-temporal dementia that interferes with movement. This type occurs when the part of the brain that controls the movement is affected, which causes muscle stiffness, slow motion, to a balance problem.

Signs And Symptoms Of Frontotempial Dementia

Signs and symptoms of front-temporal dementia are different for each individual who suffers from them. Symptoms will also worsen over time, usually over the years.

The symptoms that generally occur are behavioral changes. This includes fading interpersonal skills, losing interest in what was previously liked, not caring about personal hygiene, to changing eating habits.

Then the ability to speak and speak problematic. Such as difficulty finding the right words to be used in speech, stuttering, to the arrangement of random words in one sentence.

Another symptom is the problematic system of body motion. Body coordination is getting worse, difficulty swallowing, tremors, stiff muscles, and seizures.

Causes And Treatment

The cause of front-temporal dementia is not yet known with certainty. However, genetic factors can cause a person to suffer from this disease.

For drugs or special medicines to cure this disease, it has not existed until now. Treatment is usually done by taking antidepressant drugs, speech therapy to help patients stay in good communication, so that the support of those closest to patients is very important.