Aphasia is a symptom, not a disease
Most often, a stroke is the cause of aphasia. It is assumed that around 32,000 people in Austria suffer a stroke every year and up to 40 percent of them develop aphasia, there are more than 12,800 new cases a year. Aphasia can also be triggered by traumatic brain injury, an accident or a tumor. In the KURIER interview, the neurolinguistician and aphasia researcher Jacqueline Stark even talks regarding very rare cases in which a tick bite or even a herpes virus has led to aphasia.
While in some people, following an accident or a stroke, for example, the symptoms resolve completely, in the case of Bruce Willis it is a process that gets progressively worse. “Everyone on the set knew Bruce Willis had cognitive issues,” a source told the Celebrity News site Page Six. According to an anonymous source, working with the star was becoming increasingly difficult. For Jacqueline Stark, this information is an indication that Bruce Willis suffers from primary progressive aphasia (PPA), since the symptoms did not appear suddenly, but the disorder gradually became worse. In addition to the language deficits, cognitive problems also occur with PPA. However, Stark emphasizes that in most cases therapy leads to improvements or at least to a delay in the course.
Doctors generally recommend treatment as soon as possible for aphasia. It’s regarding intensive language training, up to five times a week. But Stark also emphasizes: “It is important for me to say that it is never too late.”
The good news is, Bruce Willis certainly has the best doctors around him, and we’ll see the superstar multiple times on screens through 2023. It remains to be hoped that he can improve his situation with the right therapy.
