Question:
I was wondering if an=yone could help me with this. I have a friend
Majoring in phycology, and is takeing a class in sleep disorders. I was
telling him about a report I saw awhile back on one of the primetime news
magazines, about a music teacher with a rare sleep disorder. He would seem
to be asleep at night, but wasn't actually sleeping. He gradually developed
sever motor impairment, and loss of IQ. He eventually died profoundly
retarded. I can't remember much more then this. I was wondering if anyone
knew anything more about it?
Answer:
I think this was on 20/20 awhile back. The gentleman had Fatal
Familial Insomnia. This is very rare. Most of the cases have been isolated
to a couple of families in Italy. As the name implies, you gradually lose
all ability to sleep. Over time even incredibly high doses of sleep
inducing agents have no effect. You eventually go into a coma a die. But
as I said, its very very rare. I think I've read about less than 20 cases
in the past 50 years.
This gentleman had the help and services of some of the worlds leading
experts in sleep medicine, pharmacology, and neurology. I believe the
course of the disease is several months, but I could be wrong. I don't
think they've isolated the gene's for FFI yet. Luckily, as I said, its very
very rare.
His name was Michel Corke.. He was a music teacher.. Noone knows how he got
the disease but it spanned over a period of 3 years. Near the end, he was not
even able to dress himself or even walk or talk. His IQ diminished by 80%. I
cant imagine how he must have felt.. I know how i feel if i dont sleep for 1
night..I get anxiety, i sweat alot and i cant even speak without stuttering
or slurring at least once in a sentence. Imagine! 3 years without sleep..
must have been pretty bad.
I heard that instead of crying at his funeral, everyone was rejoycing that
finally michel could rest and sleep.
Here's one:
http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9804/htm/sleep/
The Mayo site has a lot of great info about sleep disorders.
Not knowing that I had a sleep disorder, and finally getting myself diagnosed,
was the biggest step. Really I just thought I was lazy, and that's why I could
never get up on time in the morning.
i read your letter and maybe you can help me. my boyfriend, i think has a
sleep disorder. he does has a very tight schedule with school, a job and
hockey but in between all that all he does is sleep. if we hang out at a
friends house he falls asleep, he falls asleep on the phone, in the car and
even when we are hanging out. he knows he sleeps too much but he says he can
not help it. he parents want to take him in for some kind of blood work. its
almost as if he has mono with the way he sleeps. we know that he doesnt
however. the worst of it is that he gets terribly defensive if you confront
him about it. even a person who slightly teases him about it he goes into a
complete rage, he yells at his sister and his mother if they do not wake him
up... he doesnt wake up for anything .. maybe not even if the house was burnig
down. he gets annoyed with me because he says i never call him when before i go
out to invite.. i do but he is falls asleep in the midst if the conversation.
im very worried about him. he doesn eat right and his attitude with me and his
family scares me because he is usaully a teddy bear. if you anything , anything
at all, that you think would help please email me at AMARETT...@AOL.COM.
thank yo sooo much for you time. it really means alot to me. i want to save our
relationship.
