Rock Star's Dementia: Guitarist Dick Wagner Cured, Undiagnosed NPH Nearly Cost Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss Rocker his Career

After suffering a major stroke and heart attack back in 2007, guitarist Dick Wagner (who once played lead guitar for several influential rock bands including Kiss, Aerosmith, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper) thought his wild rock star days were over. Waking up from a coma two weeks later, 70-year-old Wagner began experiencing several signs of dementia... little did he know that such symptoms were actually curable. Although the initial loss of brain function nearly cost him his career, Wagner was finally diagnosed with NPH (normal pressure hydrocephalus). One surgery cured the condition and totally changed Wagner's life for the better... he's already back to playing tunes on the guitar.

Following the stroke and heart attack, The Frost and The Bossmen frontman explained to ABC News, "I woke up from a coma after two weeks with a paralyzed left arm. My profession as a guitarist, I thought was over." Wagner attempted rehabilitation, but the dementia symptoms kept getting worse. Soon he was burdened with mental fuzziness and the inability to walk upright - "I couldn't turn to the left as I walked, only to the right, and I would do a spiral and fall. I fell completely flat on my face in the driveway on the concrete. I didn't know what had happened to me."

Wagner was convinced his undiagnosed health problems would be the end of his rock star career, especially after suffering another fall by his swimming pool not long afterwards. He was forced to undergo surgery which is how a massive blood clot was discovered. Finally in 2011, doctors were able to diagnose Wagner with NPH, or normal pressure hydrocephalus. The diagnosis changed (and ultimately saved) Wagner's life.

NPH is a condition that produces a "rise in cerebrospinal fluid in the brain" which then puts pressure on nerves that control things like cognitive function, the bladder, and legs. The condition often mimics aspects of dementia typically associated with Alzheimer's and the motor skill challenges of Parkinson's.

Wagner promptly underwent surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona - doctors placed a shunt in his head that helps to redirect the pressuring fluid through a tube under his skin into his abdominal cavity. The surgery basically cured the rocker's dementia overnight.

Not many individuals are aware of NPH, but it is a condition that affects approximately 200,000-400,000 Americans. Even so, only about five percent of dementia patients actually have NPH, which is a curable disease.

Wagner, who co-wrote several hit Alice Cooper tunes including "Welcome to My Nightmare," is already back to rocking out on his guitar - he is currently playing concerts and producing records on the independent label Desert Dreams Records. Now that's a true rock star lifestyle.