What is frontotemporal dementia? What to know about Wendy Williams diagnosis NBC Bay Area [Video]

Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disorder that makes it difficult for a person to understand and express language, her team announced in a statement Thursday.

The 59-year-old was diagnosed with the disorders last year “after undergoing a battery of medical tests,” according to the statement.

William’s condition mirrors the same diagnosis given to actor Bruce Willis in 2022. The actor was diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia late last year after initially receiving an aphasia diagnosis.

Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, refers to a group of diseases that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the Mayo Clinic said. The disease often includes primary progressive aphasia, which means it’s causing problems with language skills.

The Mayo Clinic says several different diseases can cause frontotemporal degeneration but the two most prominent have to do with a group of brain disorders involving the protein Tau and a protein called TDP43.

FTD usually occurs …