Thinking in vain...

Reading about the weirdest sleep disorders.

Take Fatal Familial Insomnia, a rare genetic sleep disorder that affects fewer than 50 families around the world, according to the Merck Manual of Medical Information.

A healthy person in his mid-50s has trouble sleeping one otherwise normal night. The next night is worse, and the next is worse still. Days turn to weeks and sleep regimens shrink to less than an hour daily. The person's pupils shrink to a tiny size. Men become impotent. As weeks turn to months, the ability to sleep disappears entirely. A rare gene they inherited from their ancestors tricks their brain into thinking the body is always awake. They can close their eyes or lie down to rest, but they will literally never "sleep" again, according to a multiple case studies, including a one by Ann Akroush in Case Studies in Virtual Genetics.

Hallucinations and paranoia begin to take hold and eventually deteriorate into a state of dementia, according to the Merck Manual. Soon, they slip into a coma-like fog and, mercifully, die. The whole process can take as little as seven months or as long as three years. There is no known cure.

Creepy. You can read about SUNDS and Sexsomnia in the article.


Found via CoasttoCoastAM.