Fatal familial insomnia

Introduction: Fatal familial insomnia

A rare brain disease where the patient loses the ability to fall asleep. Prognosis is poor and the inability to sleep is gradually degenerative and eventually fatal.

Symptoms of Fatal familial insomnia

• Insomnia
• Hallucinations
• Stupor
• Coma
• Progressive insomnia

See full list of 13 symptoms of Fatal familial insomnia

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Fatal familial insomnia:

• Sleep Disorders: Home Testing
  • Home Sleep Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Fatal familial insomnia

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Fatal familial insomnia?

• Misdiagnosis of Fatal familial insomnia

Misdiagnosis and Fatal familial insomnia

RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed. The typical symptoms are night-time tingling, crawling, or burning sensations in the legs, with the irresistable urge to move the legs. This need for leg movement leads to tossing and turning, or getting up out of bed, all of which interferes with the ability to fall asleep. The sufferer then has the typical symptoms of sleep deprivation during the day: fatigue, tiredness, morning headaches, irritability, poor concentration and so on. This condition is sometimes misdiagnosed as other conditions such as ADHD, sleep disorders, other causes of insomnia, or other causes of leg tingling. Many patients also suffer from a related disorder called Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which causes leg spasms or other jerky movements. See introduction to RLS or introduction to PLMD....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Fatal familial insomnia

Causes of Fatal familial insomnia

Read more about causes of Fatal familial insomnia.

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Prognosis for Fatal familial insomnia

Prognosis for Fatal familial insomnia: the condition is progressive and death usually occurs about 9 months from onset of symptoms

More about prognosis of Fatal familial insomnia

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Definitions of Fatal familial insomnia:

An autosomal dominant disorder characterized by degeneration of the THALAMUS and progressive insomnia. It is caused by a mutation in the prion protein (PRIONS). - (Source - Diseases Database)

Fatal familial insomnia is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Fatal familial insomnia, or a subtype of Fatal familial insomnia, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)