Bruce Willis' aphasia diagnosis has progressed to frontotemporal dementia, his family says

G EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 3:00, LIVE ON ABC SEVEN, HULU LIVE, AND WHEREVER YOU STREAM. >> THE FAMILY BRUCE WILLIS SAYS HE IS STEPPING AWAY FROM ACTING BECAUSEDENISE DADOR JOINS US WIH DETAILS ON THIS BRAIN DISEASE. XO STARLING FOR SO MANY FANS. ABOUT 2 MILLION AMERICANS ARE LIVING WITH APHASIA, IS NOT A CONDITION THAT’S WIDELY RECOGNIZED BECAUSE THE RESULT IS — THE DISORDER IS RESULT OF OTHER CONDITIONS. QUAKES IN HIS MOVIES, QUICKWITTED ACTION STAR BRUCE WILLIAMS CAN FAST TALK HIS WAY OUT OF EMILY — ANY CALAMITY. ON INSTAGRAM, HIS DAUGHTER WROTE, OUR BELOVED BRUCE HAS BEEN

EXPERIENCING SOME HEALTH ISSUES AND IS RECENTLY BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH APHASIA, WHICH IS IMPACTED HIS COGNITIVE ABILITIES. >> IT’S BASICALLY THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND SPEAK AND OR UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE BOTH VERBAL AND WRITTEN. DENISE MAY KIM-TENSER, MD, A : NEUROLOGIST WITH KECK MEDICINE OF USC CHIEF OF USC’S NEUROSCIENCE ICU, SAYS HOW MUCH THE CONDITION IS AFFECTING WILLIS DEPENDS ON THE CAUSE. >> IF IT COMES ON SUDDENLY, IT’S USUALLY DUE TO A STROKE, OR IT CAN BE FROM HEAD INJURY. BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE OTHER TYPES OF APHASIAS THAT COME ON GRADUALLY FROM EITHER A BRAIN TUMOR

THAT’S SLOWLY GROWING OR A PROGRESSIVE DEGENERATIVE DISEASE SUCH AS DEMENTIA. DENISE SOME PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO : FUNCTION RELATIVELY NORMALLY, WHILE OTHERS NEED MORE HELP. IN

THE LAST TWO YEARS, WILLS HAS RELEASED THREE FILMS, INCLUDING GASOLINE ALLEY AND AMERICAN SEIGE. DR. KIM TENSER SAYS LIVING WITH THIS CONDITION CAN BE QUITE FRUSTRATING. >> THEY’RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE W SOMEONE AND THEY’RE NOT ABLE TO GET THEIR WORDS OUT OR THE WORDS COME OUT JUMBLED OR THEY HAVE SOMETHING CALLED WORD SALAD WHERE THEY SUBSTITUTE OTHER WORDS. DENISE: APHASIA DOES NOT AFFECT INTELLIGENCE. SOME PEOPLE IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY IN A

FEW MONTHS. OTHERS MAY NEED TO FIND OTHER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH SPEECH THERAPY OR COMPUTER PROGRAMS. 180,000 AMERICANS GET THIS BRAIN DISORDER EACH YEAR. DOCTORS SAY IF THESE CHANGES COME ON SUDDENLY, IT’S IMPORTANT TO CALL 911. >> IT CAN BE A STROKE AND WE HAVE TREATMENTS IN THE ER THAT CAN POTENTIALLY REVERSE IT. DENISE: THE NATIONAL APHASIA ASSOCIATION SAYS WHILE IT’S NOT AWARE OF THE SPECIFICS OF BRUCE WILLIS’ DIAGNOSIS, THE GROUP SAYS STRONG FAMILY SUPPORT AND EXPERT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON LIVING SUCCESSFULLY WITH APHASI