Fatal Familial Insomnia - Little Known Facts About This Rare Disorder

Out of all the sleeping disorders in medical science, 'fatal familial insomnia' is one of the rarest, least understood sleeping diorders there is.

What we know about 'fatal familial insomnia'?

* It is an inherited disorder.
* It has only been detected in about 28 families in the world, that have the dominant gene.
* Only about 50% of the people with the dominant gene develop the disorder.
* There is no cure at this time.
* The onset starts at 30 to 60 years of age.
* The sleep disorder ususally runs about 7 to 18 months.

Fatal familial insomnia disease runs a cycle of 4 stages.

* Stage 1-the sufferer deals with increased insomnia
1. He or she experiences sever panic attacks brought on by lack of sleep
2. He or she develops various kinds of phobias
3. The duration lasts about 4 months
* Stage 2-hallucinations begin to occur
1. He or she has increased and obvious panic attacks
2. The duration lasts about 5 months
* Stage 3-absolute, total inability to sleep
1. Extreme weight loss occurs
2. Duration lasts about 3 months
* Stage 4-the onset of dementia takes hold of the sufferer
1. He or she becomes irresponsive and mute
2. The duration lasts about 6 months

The content of these stages of 'fatal familial insomnia disease' are similar to those for Alzheimer's disease. However, you will notice the time frame and duration differs dramatically for each disease. Where fatal familial insomnia is over a course of months to a little over a year; in comparison to Alzheimer's sufferers have a course of several years to cope. Plus, Alzheimers's disease progressively deteriorates the mental capabilities to the degree of complete loss of memory.

There is a great concern on treatment for fatal familial insomnia. Medical science has no insights as to why it is fatal or creating effective treatment options to help or cure the problem. Neither sleeping pills nor non-medicinal therapy work to alleviate the condition.

With the expanding knowledge and genetic testing on inherited diseases and disorders; menical science will be able to find a fix that can be medicinally or therapeutically prescribed to help sufferers. Depending on how the medical world pays attention to this disorder and pushes for necessary funding to develop a cure. Through effective genetic testing and following families' history from generation to generation; will medical science be able to determine if fatal familial insomnia disease occurs in each generation or skips a generation. Determining a pattern for the disease will be one step closer to a cure.

Fatal familial insomnia disease is rare enough, it doesn't get the research needed for a cure as other sleep disorders get. Yet, it's NOT rare enough to get the proper recognition to qualify for the treatment research programs.

At the rate medical science technology is developing; it is just a matter of time, they will catch up and have the help that over 60 million people world wide need to receive a restful night of sleep.