The care team for Wendy Williams announced that the TV personality and show host was diagnosed in 2023 with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
The statement from her team on Thursday — just two days before Williams was set to return to television — explained that the 59-year-old's conditions have “presented significant hurdles” in her life, while acknowledging the ongoing speculation about Williams' health. The diagnoses came "after undergoing a battery of medical tests," a press release from her team said.
Two years after canceling her hit talk show, the former “The Wendy Williams Show” host and her family are set to address the speculation regarding Williams’ health and cognitive abilities in a new Lifetime documentary, “Where Is Wendy Williams?” coming out Feb. 24, 2024.
It is along the same lines as the diagnosis that the family of Bruce Willis announced he first received in 2022. The 68-year-old actor stepped away from Hollywood after his aphasia diagnosis at that time, and less than a year later, it progressed to the more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
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Willis' wife, Emma, along with his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three adult daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout shared in identical Instagram posts in 2022 that his diagnosis "is impacting his cognitive abilities."
As of Oct. 2023, Willis was "not totally verbal," according to friend Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of the '80s TV show "Moonlighting," which co-starred Willis and Cybill Shepherd. Caron said that the "Die Hard" star's "language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he's still Bruce."
Read more about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, including the symptoms, causes and treatments below.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a condition that hinders the ability to communicate and can affect a person's ability to speak, write and understand language, according to the Mayo Clinic.
What causes aphasia?
The most common cause of aphasia is brain damage resulting from a stroke — the blockage or rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. Loss of blood to the brain leads to brain cell death or damage in areas that control language.
Brain damage caused by a severe head injury, a tumor, an infection or a degenerative disease also can cause aphasia. In these cases, the aphasia usually occurs with other types of cognitive problems, such as memory problems or confusion.
Meanwhile, the cause of frontotemporal dementia is not known.
What are the symptoms of aphasia?
According to the Mayo Clinic, a person with aphasia may:
- Speak in short or incomplete sentences
- Speak in sentences that don't make sense
- Substitute one word for another or one sound for another
- Speak unrecognizable words
- Not understand other people's conversation
- Write sentences that don't make sense
How is it different than frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, is a progressive condition that effects cognitive function and tends to result in changes in behavior, speech and disposition. Primary progressive aphasia is a subtype of FTD impacting communication, including speech, writing and the ability to understand language.
Primary progressive aphasia is a type of FTD that usually results in no longer being able to speak, read, write or understand what people are saying, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
FTD is caused by shrinking in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control personality, behavior and language. Depending on which parts of the brain are affected, someone might experience personality changes, such as behaving erratically, inappropriately, or becoming distant, according to Mayo Clinic.
FTD is sometimes misdiagnosed as a mental health condition or Alzheimer’s disease, but it typically occurs at a younger age, between 40 and 65, than other types of dementia.
What are the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia?
Some of the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia are similar to the ones caused by aphasia, but some may be even more severe.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, here are a few symptoms that can develop as a result:
- Dramatic changes in personality and temperament, like swearing, stealing, mood swings, becoming easily agitated, increased sexual interest and possible decline in hygiene
- Socially inappropriate, impulsive, or repetitive behaviors
- Impaired judgment
- Apathy, a lack of empathy and losing interest in typical daily activities
- Decreased self-awareness
- Emotional withdrawal from others
- Loss of energy and motivation
- Speaking less frequently, and hesitating when they do speak
- Getting easily distracted and having trouble planning and organizing
- Increasing dependence
When to see a doctor
Because aphasia is often a sign of a serious problem, such as a stroke, the Mayo Clinic urges anyone to seek emergency medical care if they suddenly develop:
- Difficulty speaking
- Trouble understanding speech
- Difficulty with word recall
- Problems with reading or writing
How is aphasia treated?
Some people may be able to regain some ability to speak and communicate, and many undergo speech therapy to aid in that process. Other treatments, including certain medications and brain stimulation, are being studied for their potential to treat aphasia.
How is frontotemporal dementia treated?
There are no treatments currently available to cure or slow FTD progression, according to Johns Hopkins, but there are some things that can be done to address the symptoms.
The anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors can be helped with antidepressants, while prescription-strength sleep aids can help with problems like insomnia and other disturbances, Johns Hopkins said. Other irrational and compulsive behaviors can be reduced with antipsychotic medicine.
Other behaviors may have to be addressed with behavior modification. As for the speech difficulties that can arise, using speech and language pathologists, as well as physical and occupational therapists, can help treat the changes stemming from FTD.
