An Amsterdam is hosting a major international medical congress this month on frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common disease causing dementia after Alzheimer's disease. The people it affects are often aged between 40 and 70, relatively young.
Very different from Alzheimer's, patients with FTD undergo a gradual personality change that is often difficult for their loved ones to comprehend. In addition, a smaller group of patients develop problems expressing themselves in language. American actor Bruce Willis suffers from this form, like also Flemish actor Michel van Dousselaere. Willis's family has been very open about his disease in recent years, which has also brought FTD to more public attention.
Films have also been made about FTD - for and by patients, families and their caregivers, films that show the enormous impact personality change and losing speech has on the lives of those closest to them. Some of these films can be seen during the festival, also at Rialto De Pijp.
