What is Aphasia, brain disorder that Bruce Willis is diagnosed with? 

Hollywood actor Bruce Willis, known for his films like Pulp Fiction and the Die Hard franchise, will retire from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a disease that hampered his cognitive abilities, according to his family.

GI Jane actor and Willis’ ex-wife Demi Moore shared a picture of Willis on Instagram and stated that as a result of his aphasia, the Hollywood veteran “is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

Moore added, “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means you, as you do to him. As Bruce always says, “Live it up”, and together we plan to do just that.”

What is Aphasia? 

Aphasia is defined as a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain which controls language expression and comprehension. In simpler words, this disease renders a person as incapable to communicate with others. Most people suffer from this in middle to old age, as per Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Causes of Aphasia 

The damage to the language-dominant side of the brain can be brought on by stroke, head injury, brain tumour, infection, dementia that gets worse over time.

Types of Aphasia 

The type of aphasia a person is suffering from is based on the area of the language-dominant side of the brain that is affected and the extent of the damage. There are three types of aphasia – broca, wernicke and global.

• People with broca aphasia have damage to the front portion of the language expression and comprehension controlling side of the brain. Those diagnosed with this form of aphasia may omit “and” and “the” from their vocabulary and speak in short sentences.
• People suffering from wernicke aphasia have damage to the side portion of the language-dominant side of the brain. In this case, people report issues in understanding other people’s speech and speak in long and confusing sentences with unnecessary words.
• Global aphasia is caused by damage to a large portion of the language-dominant side of the brain. Those having global aphasia report difficulties in speaking or comprehending language.

Cure for Aphasia  

The three main treatments available for aphasia that can help in improving your ability to communicate through methods are speech-language therapy, non-verbal communication therapies like computers or pictures and group therapy for patients and their families.

Speech-language therapy can help in recovering some speech and language functions over time but many report problems in communications. People with aphasia can also recover completely without any treatment.

These tools are including the person with aphasia in conversations, use short and simple sentences, conversing naturally, encouraging all types of communication (speech, gestures, pointing or drawing), avoid correcting their speech, repeat key words or write them down and give them enough time to express themselves.

Also read: Hollywood actor Bruce Willis to retire from acting due to cognitive disease