Bruce Willis' dementia diagnosis spreads awareness about disease
Bruce Willis's family says that they want to be transparent about his battle with dementia. They're working to help him and others through awareness. The 67-year-old actor's family revealed last week that he had been diagnosed with Frento-Temporal dementia. Ten on your side, Stephanie Hudson sat down with a local expert on dementia to learn what signs we should all look out for and what's out there to help. By the time there are more than 100 forms of dementia, the most well-known being Alzheimer's disease. Now, unfortunately, most forms of dementia take several years to diagnose. Here's what you need to know to help yourself or your loved ones.
Die Hard actor Bruce Willis is now in a real-life fight with Frento-Temporal dementia. The person living with this form of dementia has more trouble understanding words and producing words. Denise Butler is the geriatric assessment coordinator at Riverside's Martha W. Goodson Center for Memory Disorders and Brain Changes. Our goal where we are is how do we give people the best support, the best quality of life. A busy parking lot provides a good example of how to decipher normal aging from possible dementia. Occasionally, forgetting where you parked is normal.
Forgetting you drove to the store is not. About 50 percent of people that are living with dementia have no insight. This is not denial. They really, truly do not understand that there's something changing with them. And for you to tell me there's something wrong with me, I am just fine. Changes can be subtle. A person may forget to pay a bill or pay them multiple times, have trouble following steps or sequencing, become the victim of a scam, lack impulse control or withdrawal from social activities.
And sometimes their families or the person they're living with or supporting them just don't even realize they've started to pick up some of the things that person used to do. If you suspect something isn't right, see a doctor. It may be something reversible, such as thyroid disease or a vitamin deficiency, which can cause memory, balance and behavioral problems. There's so much out there and people aren't even aware. Dementia itself is not reversible and there is no cure. But lifestyle plays a big role in both how patients feel and prevention. Things like getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, exercising and socializing.
Therapies and treatments can also keep people functional as long as possible. Now if you want more information on dementia and treatment, I put links to several resources on wavy.com. Stephanie Hudson, 10 on your side.
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