When actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in the spring of 2022, it ignited interest in what exactly the condition is and how it affects those who have it.
While Willis later received a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in February of this year, the two conditions are closely linked.
Primary Progressive Aphasia
In general, aphasia is classified as a neurogenic language disorder that causes a loss of language — both the ability to produce language and the ability to understand it. The condition can be caused by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor, or other brain-based infection or disease.
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA), which Willis was diagnosed with, is a progressively worsening form of aphasia that is also recognized as a sub-type of frontotemporal dementia. Unlike some other forms of aphasia, there is no way to slow this condition down and there is no way to cure it.
