This Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 9:10 p.m., TF1 broadcasts The Fifth Elementa cult science fiction film by Luc Besson and starring a brilliant Bruce Willis. An actor who unfortunately is no longer doing very well, and has been for some time now. The ex-husband of Demi Moore, who has just won a Golden Globe, the first of his career, suffers from aphasia (a partial or total loss of the ability to communicate through language) and frontotemporal dementia, a disease currently without treatment and which can affect anyone.
A disease without treatment, certainly, but there is a but. Asked by Paris Match A few months ago, neuropsychiatrist Jean-Émile Vanderheyden discussed the latest research on fronto-temporal dementia: “No recognized treatment yet exists, but gene therapyled among others by Professor Simon Ducharme, is currently under study. To do this, a harmless virus is used to carry the DNA which contains the gene the patient is missing. Once released, the genetic code is assimilated by the neurons, which will generate the protein necessary for their survival. In FTD, the missing anti-inflammatory protein is called progranulin. Thanks to it, the neurons will be able to protect themselves.”
A treatment which would aim to slow the progression of the disease, but which could not erase it: “This does not induce a cure, because the missing neurons are permanently lost, but it can stabilize the patient.” Jean-Émile Vanderheyden, however, invites Bruce Willis “to participate in the trials”: “Especially since, in his case, it is more a question of degeneration than of fronto-temporal dementia. He is not at this stage. He has language problems and seizures irritability. But he has not yet lost all autonomy due to major cognitive disorders.
Bruce Willis supported by his wife Emma
Let us remember that Bruce Willis nevertheless benefits from deep support from his entire family, from Demi Moore to his daughters and his current wife Emma, who also sent him a moving message on December 31, to on the occasion of their 17th wedding anniversary.
“17 years of us. Birthdays used to bring excitement. Now, if I'm honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a hole in my stomach. I give myself 30 minutes to ask myself: 'Why him? Why us?'. To feel anger and sorrow. Then I shake myself off and return to what is. And what is unconditional love? I feel lucky to know that, and it’s because of him. I would do it again and again in a heartbeat”, she wrote on Instagram.
