Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, according to his family.
Actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, as announced in a joint Instagram post by his family members on Thursday. This comes nearly a year after the movie icon, now 67, stepped away from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
Frontotemporal dementia is a brain disorder caused by degeneration of the brain's frontal lobe.
The symptoms of FTD that Willis faces include challenges with communication. The Willis family expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and support they have received since sharing Bruce's original diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022. However, they also acknowledged the cruelty of the disease and the fact that there are currently no treatments for it.
FTD is the most common form of dementia for people under 60 and can take years to diagnose.
The family hopes that media attention can help raise awareness and research for the disease. They also emphasized that while the diagnosis is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear understanding of Bruce's condition.
Willis and his ex-wife Demi Moore, with whom he remains close, have three children together. Willis and his wife Emma Heming Willis have two children together. As Willis' condition progresses, the family hopes that any media attention can help bring more awareness and research to this disease.