Off The Record
Doctors Break Silence On Bruce Willis’ Condition Following Demi Moore’s Touching Tribute
As Bruce Willis fights a crippling illness, his family posted rare pictures to commemorate his 70th birthday, and doctors have now provided an update on his health.
Two years ago, America’s favorite action star revealed that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a kind of dementia that results in a progressive loss of language and personality-related brain regions.
Although the celebrity has largely avoided the spotlight since receiving his illness, Willis was seen grinning and surrounded by family in birthday pictures shared by his ex-wife Demi Moore and his five kids.
When doctors who do not provide the actor’s care looked at the March 19 images, they saw that he seemed to have a “masked expression” and a “little less emotion,” both of which are characteristics linked to his illness.
Additionally, according to the doctors, he seemed to be staring sideways and away from the camera all the time, which is another sign of FTD.
Doctors noted that they would expect to see few physical changes in someone with this form of dementia, stating that its impact occurs inside the body, not visibly on the outside. However, they did notice only slight changes when comparing the most recent photos to those taken on his 69th birthday, which may indicate that his treatment regimen is helping to ease the disease’s symptoms.
Dr Stuart Fischer, an emergency medicine physician in New York City, told DailyMail.com, “The tragic thing to me is that these Instagram photos are deceptively normal. That is the real tragedy of Bruce’s situation.”
“This illness, it really doesn’t effect the outside of the body. It is what’s going on inside the body that is causing it.”
The doctors claimed they were just depending on a few pictures, which might not provide a clear picture of the issue, and they did not perform an in-person examination of Willis.
About 50,000 to 60,000 people in the US have frontotemporal dementia, one of the less prevalent types of the illness.
It is estimated that about 7 million people in the country suffer from dementia.
The frontal lobe of the brain, which is essential for higher-order cognitive processes including planning, decision-making, personality, and expressive language, as well as the temporal lobes, which are essential for processing sounds and memories, are both impacted by frontotemporal dementia.
Loss of empathy, trouble comprehending people, and language difficulties are the initial symptoms. These can develop into muteness, difficulty moving, swallowing, and being unresponsive to loved ones.
The disease has no known cure, although certain medications and treatments may be recommended to reduce symptoms by increasing dopamine and other brain chemicals.
According to the physicians, he might be getting frequent therapy to improve his speech and cognitive abilities. Nonetheless, individuals often pass away seven years following their diagnosis.
The latest photos of Willis were shared by ex-wife Demi Moore, who wrote in the caption: “Happy birthday, BW! We love you.”
More than 760,000 people have liked the post, and well-wishers have left a ton of comments.
Assessing Willis’ health in the photos, Dr W Chris Winter, a neurologist from Virginia, said: “He… appears to have a bit of a masked face that has a little less expression.”
“He looks good, and it is good to see him surrounded by his family, but he is kind of frozen a little bit.”
He added: “I had a family member with this condition, and all the pictures that we took with him he too was looking off to the side.”
“He wasn’t engaged in the photo-taking process, so he was just a little bit more disconnected.”
Dr Ozan Toy, a psychiatrist in New Jersey, added: “It is very challenging to ascertain how well a patient is doing from photos or video clips alone.”
“[But] there are ups and downs in patients with FTD, some days can be better than others.”
In February 2023, Willis was initially diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. In March 2022, it was discovered that he had aphasia, a language-related disorder.
Later, experts stated that rather than being the cause of dementia, aphasia may be a sign of this type of dementia.
‘He’s in a really stable place at the moment,’ Demi Moore stated in a December interview regarding his health.
“I’ve shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely — it’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at.”
His daughter Tallulah added in September: “He’s doing stable, which, in this situation, is good and is hard.”
“There’s painful days, but there’s so much love.”
She added: “It’s really shown me to not take any moment for granted, and I really do think that we’d be best friends. I think he’s very proud of me. You have to be in the moment. You have to be present.”
Asked in the same interview if Willis was aware of what was going on, his current wife Heming Willis said: “It’s hard to know.”
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