The care team of popular TV personality, Wendy Williams (59), last Thursday let the world in on a condition she has been diagnosed with. “In 2023, after undergoing a battery of medical tests, Wendy was officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD),” her team said in a press statement.
While fans, media contemporaries, and casual observers were stunned to learn of her frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis, it was not the first shellshock to hit the celebrity world. Bruce Willis (68), a stellar actor, just 2 years ago was diagnosed with the same disease. To put things into perspective and shed light on FTD, this newsletter succinctly drives home all you need to know about this devastating condition.
In This Article: (5 min read)
- What is Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)?
- What Causes FTD and Symptoms
- How is FTD diagnosed and is there any Cure?
- How Long Do People with FTD live?
Parts of the brain affected in frontotemporal dementia (FTD)
What is Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)?
🩹Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) refers to a group of disorders caused by nerve cell loss in the frontal lobes (the areas behind your forehead) and temporal lobes (the regions behind your ears) of the brain.
🩹This leads to abnormal behavior, personality and difficulty with producing or comprehending language.
🩹FTD is rare and tends to occur at a younger age than other dementias. About 60% of people with frontotemporal dementia are 45 to 64 years old.
🩹Dementia, loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life, mostly affects people over 65.
🩹Though generally rare, FTD is the most common form of dementia for people under age 60. FTD is progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time.
The frontal and temporal lobes shrink in FTD due to nerve cell loss
What Causes FTD?
The underlying causes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are not yet fully understood.
In most cases thus, the cause of FTD is unknown. What we do know, however, is that genetic causes play a role. Individuals with a family history of FTD are more likely to develop FTD. There are no other known risk factors.
People with FTD have abnormal amounts or forms of proteins called tau and TDP-43 inside nerve cells, or neurons, in their brain. The neurons die because the buildup of these proteins causes damage.
Memory loss in FTD tends to occur later on compared to Alzheimer’s disease. Personality changes, language difficulties, and movement problems are distinct in FTD.
What Are the Symptoms of FTD?
There are 3 main subtypes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and symptoms are manifested along those disorders.
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Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is the most common frontotemporal disorder. It causes changes in personality, behavior, emotions, and judgment. They have inappropriate and impulsive behaviors & not acting considerate of others.
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Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) involves changes in the ability to communicate — difficulty to speak, read, write, and understand what others are saying.
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Movement disorders happen when the parts of the brain that control movement are affected. They include slow movement, falling, body stiffness and muscle weakness.
Other symptoms of FTD include decreased energy and motivation, lack of interest in others, increased interest in sex, emotional flatness or excessive emotions, difficulty swallowing and shaky hands.
Memory problems – these only tend to occur later on, unlike more common forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Though there is no single test for FTD, brain imaging helps to support diagnosis.
How is FTD diagnosed?
There’s no single test for frontotemporal dementia.
FTD can be hard to diagnose because symptoms are similar to other conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
A doctor may perform an exam and ask about symptoms, look at personal and family medical history, use blood tests to help rule out other conditions, order genetic testing, conduct an assessment of the mind and behavior, and order imaging of the brain like MRI, CT scan or PET scan.
Only genetic tests in familial cases or a brain autopsy after a person dies can confirm a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
With our current knowledge of medicine, no cure exists yet for FTD. The condition can be managed to improve quality of life.
Is there Any Cure for FTD and What is the Life Expectancy?
There is no cure for frontotemporal dementia and no way to slow down or prevent it.
However, there are ways to help manage symptoms such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and support groups.
Medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, may help treat certain behavioral symptoms. Some medications may help with movement problems.
FTD predisposes an individual to physical complications such as pneumonia, infection, or injury from a fall.
Average life expectancy is 7 to 13 years after the start of symptoms (Onyike and Diehl-Schmid, 2011). But this is highly variable, and some people live much longer than this. The most common cause of death is pneumonia.
