Peter Falk has Alzheimer's Disease

[monmouth]

Document: Actor Peter Falk has Alzheimer's
Published: 12/16/08, 4:26 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A court document filed by Peter Falk's daughter says the Emmy-winning actor is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Catherine Falk is seeking a court's approval for a conservatorship of her 81-year-old father, who she claims no longer recognizes people. A hearing has been scheduled for late January.

Falk is familiar to most audiences as the star of the television series "Columbo," for which he won four Emmys. He was also nominated twice for Academy Awards for movie roles in 1959 and 1960.

The petition filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court states Falk lives in Beverly Hills with his wife and recently had hip surgery and requires constant care.

A phone message left for Falk's manager was not immediately returned Tuesday.

[DesertFlower]

1. sad. nt

[islandmkl]

2. love that guy....

almost can resist making a comparison to Columbo's 'train of thought' questioning in lieu of his current status...

[navarth]

3. very sorry to hear that. Falk is a monument.

I hate it when we lose people like this.

[pacalo]

4. One of my favorite actors -- especially in "Columbo".

Sounds like either the daughter doesn't trust Falk's wife or the daughter is more able to do it than Falk's wife. How sad.

[Dennis Donovan]

5. Oh shit. He's such a cool actor...

I can only hope that resumption of funding for stem cell research can help find a cure for this cruel disease.

[hedgehog]

6. The cure for Alzheimer's may end up having nothing to do with stem cells.

I wonder how many research projects have been put on hold because all the money went to stem cells because they were the latest fad.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Studies have shown that tumeric in the diet may

be beneficial in keeping people from getting Alzheimer's.

[hedgehog]

11. Here's another example:

A High Fat, Low Carbohydrate Diet Improves Alzheimer's Disease In Mice
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051017072307.htm


There are a lot of interesting avenues of research in this area. Focusing solely on stem cells does no one any favors.


On edit: the research I linked to suggests a process involving carbohydrates, insulin and and Alzheimer's. If I recall properly, doesn't turmeric control insulin levels?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. yes it does

I work for a health education foundation that focuses on metabolism and diet to a great extent. Doc is always reading the latest research, and commenting on it in her newsletters. To quote some of her articles:

In an article on Selenium: "As a co-factor with vitamin E it is anti-inflammatory and may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease."
http://www.futurevisionsfoundation.org/Selenium.htm

Here's another article in full:

Ibuprofen and Alzheimer’s Disease

By Alice R. Laule, M.D.

For quite awhile a connection has been noted between ibuprofen and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Most of us, me included, assumed that since Alzheimer’s represents an inflammatory condition of the brain that leads to worsening of Beta-amyloid 42 deposition in the brain, that the reason ibuprofen worked is that it is an anti-inflammatory.

This is one of those interesting facts I pick up as I read and study, and I wanted to share it with you. Ibuprofen does not reduce Alzheimer’s disease because it is an anti-inflammatory. Rather, it reduces AD because it has the unusual ability to change the place that beta-amyloid precursor protein cleaves. So we can have Beta-amyloid 40, or Beta-amyloid 39 forming, but it spares us the formation of the brain killing Beta-amyloid 42. Therefore, as the data show, a person taking 200-600 mg. of ibuprofen each day has an 80% reduction of the chances of developing AD. All of which makes me feel better about that occasional ibuprofen tablet I take.

[Tanuki]

14. I take ibuprofen daily due to an old knee injury,

and it's nice to think that having a bum knee may help protect me from Alzheimer's some day. I guess trading a knee for a brain isn't such a bad bargain.

[boobooday]

7. Damn

He was always interesting and engaging on the screen.

[mitchum]

8. Or is he just playing it cagey?

that was actually a tribute to his mastery
Good thoughts for Peter Falk and all who love him

[monmouth]

9. "Oh, and one more thing." Loved it when he did that. Very sad..n/t

[11cents]

12. Emm. I believe this daughter has a history of craziness herself.

So whether her filing is truthful or not, this could get very messy.

[Deja Q]

15. 'Columbo' and his role in 'Murder by Death'.

Sad news. :(

[stlove1000]

16. Loved him in "Wings of Desire" (1987)

I loved him in "Wings Of Desire". He brought a level of comfort and familiarity to an otherwise strange movie. And the reruns of his Columbo movies were a staple of my childhood.

[terryg11]

17. this is a loss to the industry

assuming he can no longr act. Always underappreciated at the box office