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Post about fatal family insomnia and the book itself. Sit back and we'll start.
The worst disease
For a start, it would not hurt to bring you up to date and provide basic information about the disease. I told you that perhaps the FSB (I will abbreviate the name this way) is the most terrible disease from which I most would not want to die. Why? Let's take a look at the clinical picture of this disease.
The disease begins between the ages of 30-60, most often at the age of 50. Thank you for letting us live at least a little! It all starts gradually and with relatively mild symptoms - panic attacks, depressed mood. Then the body begins to junk, which manifests itself in increased sweating and pressure surges. This continues for several months until the situation begins to worsen. Panic attacks are becoming a real problem, and, in addition, strange visual hallucinations appear. Then the person just stops sleeping. Life slowly and surely leaves him. In the end, the patient turns into a vegetable, his brain dies, in fact, like himself. But do not rush to panic and look for similar symptoms in yourself. You will definitely find them, but this is guaranteed not it. FSB is an exclusively genetic disease, which has so far been found in only 50 families, mainly from Italy. So, if you do not have Italian roots and you first heard about the disease on my channel, you can sleep peacefully.
A family that couldn't sleep
And now about the book itself. About 20 years ago, the American journalist and writer D.T. Max met the Italian Cortelli family. This family has suffered from fatal family insomnia since the 18th century. The family knew their ancestry very well, and its then head Silvano knew very well all the family members who had suffered from this disaster for several hundred years. The family tried not to talk too much about the disease, but at the age of 53, the ancient curse overtook Silvano himself. After that, he lived no more than two years, but his death gave hope for a bright future for the whole family. He bequeathed his brain to science, and Italian doctors were able to investigate the FSB phenomenon in more detail. The journalist also did not leave empty-handed. Based on Silvano's stories, he wrote that very book. Unfortunately, I did not find it in free access, but anyone can buy the book on one of the popular platforms. It doesn't cost much, only 7 bucks.
Book link: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id422549793?id=422549793
https://www.amazon.com/Family-That-Couldnt-Sleep-Medical/dp/081297252X
Science
So what is the root of this terrible disease? Thanks to Silvano's brain, scientists have figured out that it is a mutated prion protein in the brain. In simple terms, these abnormal proteins begin to multiply in adulthood, and like worms destroy the neuronal cells of the thalamus (a very important part of the brain that controls the release of hormones, pressure, body temperature). Because of this, a malfunction in the body begins - sweating, panic attacks, pressure surges. Thanks to such changes, the body simply cannot prepare for sleep, the nervous system is constantly awake, which leads to permanent insomnia. Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to cure the FSB at this stage. Some patients were able to prolong their lives with a healthy lifestyle, tranquilizers and sensory deprivation chambers. True, only for a few years. Nevertheless, there is still a ray of hope. Some scientists believe that the antibiotic doxycycline can prevent the development of the disease. But while research is being carried out, we just have to scare our friends with such a creep disease. That's all for me. See you in the next posts.
The worst disease
For a start, it would not hurt to bring you up to date and provide basic information about the disease. I told you that perhaps the FSB (I will abbreviate the name this way) is the most terrible disease from which I most would not want to die. Why? Let's take a look at the clinical picture of this disease.
The disease begins between the ages of 30-60, most often at the age of 50. Thank you for letting us live at least a little! It all starts gradually and with relatively mild symptoms - panic attacks, depressed mood. Then the body begins to junk, which manifests itself in increased sweating and pressure surges. This continues for several months until the situation begins to worsen. Panic attacks are becoming a real problem, and, in addition, strange visual hallucinations appear. Then the person just stops sleeping. Life slowly and surely leaves him. In the end, the patient turns into a vegetable, his brain dies, in fact, like himself. But do not rush to panic and look for similar symptoms in yourself. You will definitely find them, but this is guaranteed not it. FSB is an exclusively genetic disease, which has so far been found in only 50 families, mainly from Italy. So, if you do not have Italian roots and you first heard about the disease on my channel, you can sleep peacefully.
A family that couldn't sleep
And now about the book itself. About 20 years ago, the American journalist and writer D.T. Max met the Italian Cortelli family. This family has suffered from fatal family insomnia since the 18th century. The family knew their ancestry very well, and its then head Silvano knew very well all the family members who had suffered from this disaster for several hundred years. The family tried not to talk too much about the disease, but at the age of 53, the ancient curse overtook Silvano himself. After that, he lived no more than two years, but his death gave hope for a bright future for the whole family. He bequeathed his brain to science, and Italian doctors were able to investigate the FSB phenomenon in more detail. The journalist also did not leave empty-handed. Based on Silvano's stories, he wrote that very book. Unfortunately, I did not find it in free access, but anyone can buy the book on one of the popular platforms. It doesn't cost much, only 7 bucks.
Book link: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id422549793?id=422549793
https://www.amazon.com/Family-That-Couldnt-Sleep-Medical/dp/081297252X
Science
So what is the root of this terrible disease? Thanks to Silvano's brain, scientists have figured out that it is a mutated prion protein in the brain. In simple terms, these abnormal proteins begin to multiply in adulthood, and like worms destroy the neuronal cells of the thalamus (a very important part of the brain that controls the release of hormones, pressure, body temperature). Because of this, a malfunction in the body begins - sweating, panic attacks, pressure surges. Thanks to such changes, the body simply cannot prepare for sleep, the nervous system is constantly awake, which leads to permanent insomnia. Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to cure the FSB at this stage. Some patients were able to prolong their lives with a healthy lifestyle, tranquilizers and sensory deprivation chambers. True, only for a few years. Nevertheless, there is still a ray of hope. Some scientists believe that the antibiotic doxycycline can prevent the development of the disease. But while research is being carried out, we just have to scare our friends with such a creep disease. That's all for me. See you in the next posts.
