What is aphasia? Sylvester Stallone shares update on friend Bruce Willis’ health

In March, the family of Bruce Willis, the actor best known for his roles in the Die Hard films, announced that he would be “stepping away” from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia.

Now, actor Sylvester Stallone, who has been friends with Willis for years, has shared an update on his health. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone said: “Bruce is going through some really, really difficult times. So he’s been sort of incommunicado.”

He added: “That kills me. It’s so sad.”

When his family first shared the news earlier this year, to the 67-year-old film star’s daughter, Rumer Willis, said the diagnosis came after he had been “experiencing some health issues,” with her Instagram post noting the disorder has been “impacting his cognitive abilities”.

The actress, 33, wrote: "As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him."

The statement was signed by the actor’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, 43, his ex-wife Demi Moore, 59, and his five children, and was followed by an outpouring of support from Hollywood stars.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a brain disorder that leaves an individual unable to communicate as it can impact ability to speak, write and understand spoken and written language. It can be devastating for patients, disrupting their ability to take part in everyday life.

Aphasia can be caused by a stroke, tumour, severe head injury or other damage to the language centres of the brain. It can also be triggered by a degenerative brain disease such as Alzheimer’s. Sometimes temporary episodes of aphasia can occur as a result of migraines, seizures, or a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which occurs when blood flow to the brain is temporarily blocked.

For most, the cause is a stroke that has cut off blood to part of the brain. Without oxygen and nutrients, brain cells die, which leads to the difficulty retrieving words.

The disorder can also co-occur with speech disorders, such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from damage to the brain.

Although aphasia affects a person’s ability to communicate, it doesn’t impact their intelligence.

It can affect people of all ages, but it’s most common in over-65s. This is because strokes and progressive neurological conditions tend to affect older adults. More than 350,000 people in the UK were living with aphasia in 2018.

How does aphasia manifest itself?

There are several different types of aphasia. They are often classified as "expressive" or "receptive", depending on whether there are difficulties with understanding or expressing language, or both.

Those with expressive aphasia may struggle to speak in complete sentences, find the words they are looking for or put together words incorrectly, which can be frustrating. Other patients have receptive aphasia; they may experience intense confusion when people talk to them, and they may fail to follow conversations.

But most people with aphasia have some trouble with their speaking, and will have a mixture of problems with writing, reading and perhaps listening.

Are there treatments for aphasia?

While there is no medical cure for aphasia, the main treatment consists of speech and language therapy, which entails relearning and practicing language skills and other ways to communicate.

Most people make some degree of recovery – some people improve dramatically in a few months, but others may need to find other ways to communicate. The chance of recovery is poorer for people with aphasia resulting from a progressive neurological condition.

Researchers are looking into new types of speech therapy and noninvasive methods such as a procedure that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate brain cells.

Are there ways to prevent aphasia?

There is no technique to prevent aphasia, but there are steps you can take to improve your brain health in general, such as eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly.

The main cause of aphasia is a stroke, so it’s important to avoid stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and stress.