Aphasia: understand the symptoms of the disease that forced Bruce Willis to take a break from his career

Known for his participation in major Hollywood productions, actor Bruce Willis, 67, will take a break from his career for suffering from aphasia, a disease that affects cognitive abilities.

The hiatus from work was announced through an Instagram post from his daughter Rumer, who thanked fans for their support and love during the difficult time the family is going through.

What causes aphasia and the consequences

Aphasia is language impairment after brain damage that usually occurs on the left side of the brain, the area responsible for language function in most humans (some people have this area on the right side of the organ).

The disorder can be mainly caused by stroke (Cerebral Vascular Accident), but it can also occur due to head trauma, brain tumor, aneurysm, brain infections and diseases that affect cognitive performance, such as some types of dementia.

In the case of Bruce Willis, the family did not reveal what caused the disturbance in the actor.

“In general, the most common characteristics of those who have aphasia is the difficulty of transforming a thought into a spoken or written word, of understanding what is said by other people, reading and performing certain gestures”, explains neurologist Leandro Teles, a member of the ABN (Brazilian Academy of Neurology).

Different types of aphasia

Specific characteristics determine the type of aphasia a patient suffers from and can serve as clues for neurologists to identify the type of lesion.

non-fluent aphasia

Lesions that lead to non-fluent aphasias usually affect anterior areas of the brain, especially the frontal regions that are involved with speech fluency.

In general, these people can understand what they hear, but they have more difficulty with speech — many sentences are missing words. Many are aware of these flaws and can become frustrated as a result.

fluent aphasia

The difficulties for people who suffer from this type of aphasia are different. Instead of running out of words, speeches can be lengthy, but they often lack meaning, delivering incomprehensible and disconnected messages during a conversation, for example.

Treatment

The chances of a cure depend on what caused the problem.

“In many cases, as it is for those who have suffered a stroke, the patient undergoes speech therapy to work on language, along with physiotherapy to help gain strength, in case any side of the body has been harmed”, says neurologist Thaís. Augusta Martins, from Hospital Santa Lucia, in Brasília.

“Even if the case is neurodegenerative, rehabilitation work usually has the power to slow down the progression. The closer to the beginning of the problem the treatment begins, the better the outcome is”, concludes the doctor.