The family of Bruce Willis has confirmed their plans to donate the actor’s brain for scientific research after his death. It is expected that this will help researchers better understand frontotemporal dementia (FTD) — the disease that ended the star’s acting career in 2022.
In 2022, the 71-year-old star of “Die Hard” was first diagnosed with aphasia. The following year, he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, according to Jubilee Cast.
Family support and the importance of research
The actor’s wife Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife Demi Moore, and his five daughters supported this decision. Emma Heming Willis described it as “emotionally difficult, but scientifically necessary”.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the most common forms of dementia among adults under the age of 60 and currently has no cure. Postmortem brain tissue provides researchers with a unique opportunity to study how the disease changes the brain at the cellular level. Obtaining such information in other ways is extremely difficult, according to Jubilee Cast.
Emma Heming Willis supports research
Emma Heming Willis continues to publicly draw attention to the problem of frontotemporal dementia, particularly through the Emma and Bruce Willis Foundation for Frontotemporal Dementia Research and Caregiver Support. The foundation supports scientific research and helps people who care for patients with this disease, according to Jubilee Cast.
After a recent unsuccessful clinical trial of a drug to treat FTD, Emma Heming Willis called the news a “hard blow”, but urged researchers not to stop their work. “Do not abandon this community that supports us so much,” she wrote.
Source: Clarín
