Fatal family insomnia: what it is, symptoms and treatment
Fatal family insomnia, also known by the acronym IFF, is an extremely rare genetic disease that affects a part of the brain known as the thalamus, which is primarily responsible for controlling the body’s sleep and wakefulness cycle.
- As a result.
- People with these types of sleep disorders are increasingly struggling to sleep.
- In addition to other changes in the automatic nervous system.
- Which regulates body temperature.
- Breathing and sweating.
- For example.
It is a neurodegenerative disease, which causes fewer and fewer neurons in the thalamus over time, leading to a gradual worsening of insomnia and all associated symptoms, which can occur at a time when the disease is no longer life-threatening and therefore said to be fatal.
The most characteristic symptom of IVF is the onset of chronic insomnia that suddenly appears and worsens over time, until it causes physical and mental deterioration that leads to coma and even death.
Other symptoms that may occur associated with fatal family insomnia include:
As the disease progresses, it is common for the person with FFI to experience uncoordinated movements, hallucinations, confusion, and muscle spasms.However, the total lack of sleepiness usually does not occur until the final stage of the disease.
Diagnosis of fatal family insomnia is often suspected by the doctor after evaluating symptoms and detecting diseases that can cause symptoms, when this happens, it is common to have a referral to a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders, who will perform other tests.such as a sleep study and a CT scan, for example, to confirm the change in the thalamus.
In addition, there is still genetic testing that can be done to confirm the diagnosis, as the disease is caused by a gene transmitted within the same family.
In most cases, fatal family insomnia is inherited from a single parent, as its causal gene has a 50% chance of passing from parent to child, but it is also possible that the disease occurs in people with no family history of disease, as a mutation in the replication of this gene may occur.
Currently, there is still no cure for fatal family insomnia, nor an effective treatment known to slow its progression, however, since 2016 new animal studies have been conducted to try to find a substance that may slow the development of the disease.
People with FFI, however, can make specific treatments for each of the symptoms presented, in an attempt to improve their quality of life and comfort.For this it is always preferable that treatment be guided by a doctor specializing in sleep disorders.