Brad Pitt recently revealed that he was diagnosed with face blindness or prosopagnosia. This condition prevents the actor from recognizing other people’s faces.

In its July 25 issue, National Enquirer claimed that Pitt may have suffered from an even more serious illness that’s why he experienced face blindness.

“It’s a condition affecting the part of the brain that helps us recognize people’s faces. It can be acquired from a stroke or when a part of the brain dies. Sufferers already can’t place their own parents, spouses, or even their children without help,” New Jersey-based neurologist Dr. Nilay Shah said.

During a recent interview, Pitt said that a doctor did not diagnose him. But he is already living with the symptoms. In fact, some of his friends think that he’s disrespecting them when he couldn’t recognize their faces.

Dr. Shah also said that face blindness can only be detected through extensive MRI.

“It’s not like you do the MRI and you see the spot missing on the brain,” he said.

A second source explained what Pitt does when he’s at events to prevent him from disappointing friends.

“When he is at public events, Brad has an assistant to cue him about everyone in the room, or on a set, to jostle his memory. Brad has other tricks, like asking people to introduce themselves, repeating their names, and using small talk to buy more time for his memory to kick in,” the source said.

For now, it seems that Pitt is adjusting well to his condition. But Dr. Shah warned that things could get worse once the actor is much older.

“You are not as good in terms of recognizing someone using those techniques because your brain is slowing down,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pitt also made headlines recently amid reports that he traveled to Italy to celebrate Knox and Vivienne’s 14th birthday.

The Ad Astra actor arrived in Italy days head of Angelina Jolie and their children. But there are no photos of the entire family hanging out with each other.

As such, it’s unclear if Pitt really traveled to Italy to be with his kids or if he was there for a vacation or another engagement.

At the end of the month, Pitt will embark on the international promotion of his upcoming movie, Bullet Train. So, this could always be why he’s in Italy.