Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/NEW YORK: Retired American actor Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia — a disorder with loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other thinking abilities — his family announced.
In the statement on social media, the family said that it was a “relief to have a clear diagnosis finally.”
The family said that the 67-year-old was diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that causes difficulties with speech, in the spring of the previous year, but this progressed, and he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
The family expressed their “deepest gratitude for an incredible outpouring of love”.
The family said: “Today, there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead.”
Willis became a household name in the 1980s and 90s after he starred in blockbuster movies such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Pulp Fiction.
The American actos has been nominated for five Golden Globes, winning one for Moonlighting and three Emmys, where he won two.
But his family said that Willis would give up acting, as his ailment affected his cognitive abilities.
The family statement said they hoped media attention would raise awareness of the actor’s condition.
It said: “Bruce believed in using his voice in the world to help others and raise awareness about important public and private issues.”
“We know in our hearts if he could see today – he would want to respond by bringing international attention and a connectedness with those who wer also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts several individuals and their families.”
Willis family
The statement was signed by Willis family members, including his wife Emma Heming, with whom he has two daughters, and his former wife Demi Moore and their three daughters.
US journalist Maria Shriver, a significant brain disorder patient care and research campaigner, tweeted: “My heart goes out to Bruce Willis and his family, & also my gratitude for shining a much-needed light on this disease.
The family said that when people step forward, “it helps all of us. When people get a diagnosis, it is challenging, but also almost a relief to get a diagnosis.”
Aaron Paul, who starred in America’s Breaking Bad TV crime drama, said that Willis was “such a damn legend. Love you so much, my friend!”
US singer and actress Queen Latifah also wrote on Instagram, saying, “God bless you, my brother; we love you!!! All the best. Thank you so much and your family for all the entertainment!!!”
Actress Selma Blair, who has multiple sclerosis, also wrote: “Sending love.”
The United Kingdom website said that frontotemporal dementia is an “uncommon” form of the disease that causes the sufferer problems with behavior and language.
Symptoms include slow or stiff movements, loss of bladder or bowel control – although this tends to be later – and muscle weakness.
