Fatal Familial Insomnia: How fatal?

We often heard from friends, family members and officemates or even from classmates that they are having insomnias and that they are experiencing difficulties in sleeping. Well at least they can still sleep. Let’s just pray that they don’t get this Fatal Familial Insomnia. Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is a very rare sleeping disorder; it is so rare that there are only 50 families worldwide who is suffering from this illness. It is an autosomal dominant inherited prion disease of the brain. Patients ranging fom 30 yrs old to 60 yrs old is the age variable that is triggered by this disease. Death usually occurs between 7 to 36 months onset and has 4 stages taking 7 to 18 months before accelerating its course.

First stage is that the patient suffers increasing insomnia, paranoia, extreme depression, phobias and panic attacks which last for 4 months. This could be very difficult for a person having this psychological problems and even last for months.

Second stage is hallucination and panic attacks become more noticeable, continuing from the first stage up to 5 months.

Third stage is rapid loss of weight due to increasing insomnia that last for three months.

Fourth stage is the worst, Dementia; the inability to move and unresponsive which last until the patient subsequently die.

There is no treatment for FFI and that makes it even more insane. FFI is a nightmare but totally inhumane and real without sleep. And that is why it is described as fatal.