Topline
Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with a form of dementia and a communication disorder called primary progressive aphasia, which is a rare disease that has a typical life expectancy of between seven and 12 years after symptoms show.
Wendy Williams visits SiriusXM Studios on September 6, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago … [+]
Key Facts
Williams, 59, was diagnosed with PPA and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023, according to a Thursday announcement by her care team.
The announcement came after “she began to lose words, act erratically at times and have difficulty understanding financial transactions,” her team said, adding her conditions have “already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life,” though she’s able to do many things by herself.
PPA is a type of aphasia–a language disorder—typically caused by damage to the left side of the brain that affects some aspects of speaking, reading and writing like comprehension and production, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
It’s a direct result of neurodegenerative diseases like frontotemporal dementia—which Williams was also diagnosed with—and although the first initial symptoms are speech and language issues, other underlying problems like memory loss may occur later on.
Aphasia typically affects middle aged and older adults, though anyone at any age can get it including children; aphasia in children is often mistaken for other disorders that affect speech, like autism.
There aren’t any cures for the disorder and it doesn’t directly cause death, though the life expectancy after onset is usually between seven and 12 years.
Big Number
200,000. That’s about how many people in the U.S. have PPA, making it a rare disease, according to a study published in the journal F1000Research. About one million Americans have aphasia, and almost 180,000 Americans are diagnosed with some form of the disorder each year, according to NIDOCD data.
Key Background
Because major changes in the brain happen after brain injury, many patients with aphasia see great improvements in their communication within the first few months of onset without treatment, though aphasia may remain after this initial period, according to the NIDOCD. Other forms of aphasia are caused by injuries to the brain like a stroke or head injury. There are three common forms of PPA, according to Harvard Medical School: logopenic, semantic and nonfluent (or agrammatic). Logopenic PPA is usually caused by Alzheimer’s disease, and causes difficulties with finding words. People with this form of PPA struggle with finding everyday words, though they know what they mean. Semantic PPA is typically a result of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and causes difficulty understanding what common words mean. Nonfluent PPA is also typically caused by frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and causes patients to know what they want to say, but struggle with getting it out, resulting in incorrect grammar and improper sentence structure. Williams’ team did not specify whether she was diagnosed with a specific type of PPA.
Tangent
Frontotemporal dementia (or frontotemporal degeneration) is a blanket term for a group of disorders caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells in the brain’s temporal or frontal lobes. This cell damage results in a change in behaviors and thinking. Symptoms of FTD include trouble communicating, difficulty working, emotional problems, difficulty walking and unusual behaviors. Because it’s progressive, it gets worse over time, which may result in high levels of 24-hour care. Life expectancies with FTD range, as some people can live up to 10 or more years, while others only live for two. FTD typically affects people between the ages of 45 and 64 years old, and accounts for fewer than one in 30 of all dementia cases.
Further Reading
Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Frontotemporal Dementia And Aphasia (Forbes)
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
