Bruce Willis' mental acuity has only gotten worse over the last year, his family said Thursday in an update. In the spring of 2022, Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects the ability to communicate and understand language. Since then, the 67-year-old's condition has deteriorated further, writes his wife, Emma, in a statement. Willis has been diagnosed more specifically with frontotemporal dementia, reports People. It's an "umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain," per the Mayo Clinic. "These areas of the brain are generally associated with personality, behavior and language.”
Emma said the news was difficult to receive, but adds that it's "a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis." Without elaborating, she said that "challenges to communicate" are just one symptom of the disease, per CNN. “We know in our hearts that—if he could today—he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families," she writes. Willis has at least one more film credit on the horizon—the movie Assassin is due to be released next month. (Willis had been having trouble on movie sets for some time before he stopped acting.)
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