Brain cells die off

Bruce Willis: consequences of the rare form of dementia

Hollywood star Bruce Willis suffers from dementia.

(Bild: AFP/ANGELA WEISS)

When Hollywood star Bruce Willis (67) announced at the beginning of 2022 that he was ending his career due to health problems, there was much speculation about the reasons behind it. Now the exact diagnosis has been confirmed: frontotemporal dementia. What is behind this particular form of dementia and what does it mean for those affected and their relatives?

Dementia is a generic term for pathological changes in the brain that are accompanied by a progressive loss of certain mental functions. The most common form (60 to 70 percent of all cases) is Alzheimer's disease. Less common, but usually earlier - before the age of 60 - is frontotemporal dementia (FTD, or Pick's disease), in which nerve cells die off, particularly in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain. This largely unknown form manifests itself in a different way and also differs in its progression. How can the first signs be recognized?