What Hidden Dementia Symptoms Surfaced After Bruce Willis' Diagnosis?

FTD is a type of dementia that strikes the area of the brain associated with language and personality. As such, it can cause surprising changes to a person’s behavior.

MailOnline shared some of the symptoms of dementia, one of which is a tendency to hand out money.

According to research done by USC and Bar-Ilan University in Israel, people at risk of dementia may be more likely to hand out money to strangers.

“Trouble handling money is thought to be one of the early signs of Alzheimer's disease, and this finding supports that notion,” Dr. Duke Han, a neuropsychology professor who led the research at USC, said.

Another study at the University College London suggested that a preference for slapstick comedy could signal Alzheimer's disease.

When friends and relatives of people with Alzheimer’s and FTD were asked whether there had been changes in their loved ones’ taste in comedy as they developed dementia, a common answer was that they began to prefer slapstick.

The study further said that people with FTD may tend to laugh at tragic or otherwise unfunny things.

Meanwhile, another study done by researchers from the University of Kent and University of York found that dementia could affect how people dressed.

According to the study, patients would often wear mismatched clothes. They also didn’t dress appropriately for the weather.

One woman named Melissa, who was caring for a person with dementia, was quoted by the study as saying, “I’ve never seen my dad scruffy. Never. Until that day I turned up in the home and he’s sitting there in screwed up clothes which really hurt me because I'm not used to that – not at all.”

Research done at Washington University in St. Louis suggested that Alzheimer’s also made patients lose their driving skills.

Symptoms include driving slowly, parking badly, and changing directions all of a sudden.

Dementia affects a person’s memory and motor skills, which in turn affects how they drive.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles found that people with FTD were more likely to use cuss words.

In the study, 70 patients were asked to name as many words starting with “f” and “s” as they could within one minute. The words “f**k” and “s**t” turned out to be common choices.

The explanation for this is that people with dementia tend to lose the filter that prevents them from swearing even in normal situations.

People with dementia lose their filter not only when it comes to profane language but also as far as behavior is concerned. They could act strangely and rudely, for example, or even take their clothes off in public.

It is unlikely, though, that they understand what they’re doing.

“These situations can be very confusing, distressing, shocking or frustrating for someone with dementia, as well as for those close to them,” the Alzheimer's Society said.

“The person with dementia may not understand why their behavior is considered inappropriate. It’s very unlikely that they are being inappropriate on purpose,” they added.