Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia. What is FTD?

BRUCE Willis’ family has announced that he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

The announcement Thursday came about a year after his family said that Willis would step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a brain disorder that leads to speaking, reading and writing problems.

Here’s some details on the condition:

WHAT IS FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA?

There are different types of dementia, and the frontotemporal form affects regions in the front and sides of the brain. Because it causes problems with behavior and language, aphasia can be a symptom.

It’s caused by damage to neurons, the brain’s information carriers, but the underlying reasons for a particular case are often unclear. People with a family history of the condition are more likely to develop it. It’s rare and tends to happen at a younger age than other forms of dementia, between ages 45 and 65.

The terms frontotemporal disorders and frontotemporal dementia are sometimes shortened