Subtle sign when eating could be symptom of silent killer dementia

When it comes to dinner parties, the last thing anyone wants is an awkward dinner guest, but experts have now revealed that unusual table manners could be more than just a personality quirk - and may in fact be an early sign of dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia in particular, a condition which was recently propelled into the spotlight by actor Bruce Willis’ diagnosis, is caused by a gradual decline in the areas of the brain linked to personality and language abilities.

Given the parts of the brain that the condition affects, it can manifest with a host of symptoms, such as impulsivity or a lack of empathy - as well as dysphasia, the inability to find the rightwords to communicate.

However, experts have now warned that one lesser known symptom, specifically “obsessive and repetitive behaviours” could even extend to a patients eating habits and overall diet. This may manifest as quirky mannerisms, such as only eating one food and refusing to eat anything else, or even eating non-food items and potentially stealing from other people’s plates.

Dr Marilena Aiello, a neuroscientist who researches the condition, said previously: “These behaviours are problematic, of course, socially, but also with regard to patients' health as they tend to gain weight.

“[But], some people lose weight because they eat a narrow range of foods in an obsessive way.”

Why exactly this type of dementia plays such a huge role in eating habit changes, experts have yet to discover - but researchers believe it may potentially be linked to alterations in the body's signals for hunger and fullness, reports The Daily Mail.

It is currently unknown whether Bruce Willis himself has been affected by changes to his eating behaviours as a result of the condition, but his wife did recently open up about the challenges he has faced with communication.

Speaking to ABC News earlier this month, Emma Heming Willis revealed the subtle symptom that had developed in the early stage of the disease.

She said: “For someone who is really talkative, very engaged, he was just a little more quiet, and when the family would get together he would kind of just melt a little bit.”

Shortly after, Willis began losing words and saw the return of a childhood stutter that hadn’t been seen for several decades.

“[He] felt very removed, a little cold, not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate to going the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary,” she added.

In most cases of frontotemporal dementia, a condition which affects around 1 in 20 of the 944,000 people in the UK who have dementia, the first signs of the disease are marked behaviour changes.

This sets it apart from other adjacent conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease which initially tends to manifest as memory loss or confusion with time or place.

As frontotemporal dementia progresses, it slowly begins to affect more and more parts of the brain, meaning patients with the condition can sometimes mirror the symptoms of late-stage Alzheimer’s sufferers.

Other notable symptoms of the condition include difficulty eating or swallowing, trouble walking and being vulnerable to infections.

While the condition does have a longstanding and detrimental impact on a sufferer's life, it is not normally fatal on its own, however it can make the body more susceptible to infections and other complications. These include conditions such as difficulty swallowing which can impact on eating, drinking and maintaining adequate nutrition.

Heartbreakingly, there is also currently no cure for the disease either, but some drugs and therapies are available which may help to slow the progression of symptoms. These include antidepressants (SSRIs) and antipsychotics for severe behaviours, along with non-drug therapies such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy to improve daily function and communication.

It is also currently unknown what causes the disease, although research has suggested it may be due to a build-up of protein clumps in the brain, or that it could be caused by damage to the blood vessels in the brain, limited the amount of nutrients and oxygen brain cells receive.