It is expected that the number of cases of an aggressive form of dementia suffered by talk show host Wendy Williams will rise by almost 75 percent in Great Britain in the coming years.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) causes parts of the brain shrink over time.
Patients typically experience changes in their mood, become more aggressive and struggle with their memory.
The disease can also cause aphasia, which causes someone to have difficulty with their speech and language.
Both Williams and recently Die Hard star Bruce Willis have suffered from aphasia as a result of their FTD battle.
An analysis by MailOnline shows that the number of FTD patients in Britain could rise above 55,000 by 2050, a 75 percent increase on current estimates
Wendy Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, her care team revealed Thursday; seen in February 2020 in NYC
The diagnosis is the same as that of Die Hard star Bruce Willis, 68
Experts claim that most FTD patients require full-time care only three to five years after their initial diagnosis, with the disease progressing rapidly.
Another unusual aspect of this still poorly understood subtype of dementia is that it typically occurs much younger than normal.
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, one in thirty dementia patients in the UK have FTD.
This roughly equates to around 31,000 Britons currently living with the disease, but does not include those who may be in the early stages and have not yet been diagnosed.
But MailOnline’s analysis suggests this number could rise to 55,000 by 2050, according to current projections for dementia patients in general.
It is estimated that 1.6 million Britons will be living with all forms of dementia by then, compared to around 900,000 today.
It means the number of Britons with FTD will have increased by 75 percent on the current total.
The majority of these FTD cases will be unusually young for dementia patients, with most patients with the condition being between 45 and 64 years old.
FTD is considered by experts to be the leading cause of early-onset dementia, with the condition developing before the age of 65.
Experts warn that this can often lead to delayed diagnosis in FTD patients, with many doctors not suspecting that younger patients may have the condition.
Some wrongly attribute the classic symptoms to other possible causes, such as stress or depression.
As the disease progresses, more and more parts of the brain deteriorate.
This is when symptoms become similar to those in late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, including difficulty eating or swallowing, needing help walking and being vulnerable to infections.
Similar to Alzheimer’s disease, FTD is thought to be caused by an abnormal buildup of proteins around nerve cells, eventually causing them to die.
Scientists are still trying to unravel what causes this protein buildup in the first place, but many cases are suspected to be linked to our genes.
It is believed that as many as a third of FTD patients inherit the genes responsible for the condition directly from their parents.
Others are thought to have minor genetic quirks that slightly increase their risk of developing FTD.
Like other forms of dementia, regular exercise and a balanced diet are considered by experts to be the best ways to help prevent the condition.
In the US, FTD is responsible for approximately one in twenty cases of dementia, affecting roughly 50,000 to 60,000 Americans.
95 percent of right-handed people and two-thirds of left-handed people use the left side of their brain’s frontal and temporal lobes to process speech. The remaining one-third of left-handed people have right-brain dominance. When there is damage to this part of the brain, speech and language suffer
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological conditions (affecting the brain), which affect memory, thinking and behaviour.
Common symptoms include memory loss, poor judgment, confusion, repetitive questions, communication problems, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, acting impulsively and mobility problems.
Alzheimer’s disease still accounts for the lion’s share of dementia cases, accounting for about 60 percent of the total.
FTD, like other forms of dementia, is incurable and will eventually cause a patient’s death as the condition progresses and affects more and more parts of the brain that affect body functions, for example swallowing.
Experts have warned that Britain, like many developed countries, is facing a dementia time bomb as the number of cases rises in line with the aging of the older population.
In October, scientists warned that Britain must ‘be prepared’ for the increased burden of ensuring dementia patients, regardless of their financial circumstances, get the care they need.
Dementia currently costs the UK an estimated £34.7 billion a year, although this is expected to rise to £94.1 billion, according to the charity Alzheimer’s Society.
These costs are a mix of NHS care and treatment, social care and the unpaid care provided by relatives.