Awesome medical mystery "The Family That Couldn't Sleep"

[Sequoia]

by D. T. Max.

Prions have interested me since I first heard about them and even spoke to Stanley Pruisner about setting up an interview about 2 or 3 years ago. This was when stories about Mad Cow was getting a lot of attention but not so much in the "speak/hear/see no evil" USA. Interview didn't happen as he wasn't able to work it in his schedule but it was cool just to talk to him about things I couldn't even pronounce. A few months ago I was checking out the New York Times Book Review and found the above mentioned book about a family from Italy who, in their 50s or even younger, would began to act strangly, bumping into things, pupils became pin pricks, and worse, they could never ever fall asleep. This disease is called "fatal familial insomnia". This is a very fasinating and jaw dropping kinda book.



From Publishers Weekly
In 1765, Venetian doctors were stumped by the death of a man who had suffered from insomnia for more than a year and spent his final months paralyzed by exhaustion. Over the next two centuries, many of his descendants would develop similarly fatal symptoms, with a range of misdiagnoses, from encephalitis to alcohol withdrawal. Finally, in the early 1990s, their disease was recognized as a rare genetic form of prion disease. The family reluctantly shared their history with Max, who has written about science and literature for the New York Times Magazine and other publications. Max (inspired in part by his own neuromuscular disorder) has crafted a powerfully empathetic account of their efforts to make sense of their suffering and find a cure. But this is only half the story. Looking at prion disease in general, Max doubles back to the English mad-cow epidemic of the 1990s, retracing established backstories among New Guinea aboriginals and European sheep herds. There's enough fascinating material—in particular, a theory suggesting that early humans were nearly wiped out by a plague spread by cannibalism—to keep readers engaged, but they're likely to want still more about the genuinely captivating family drama. (Amazon.com)

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Funny. My wife was just telling me about this last night.

Maybe they just had something about it on NPR?

Sounds fascinating; albeit upsetting.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I saw a TV documentary about an American man who died of it

but I don't remember whether it was on PBS or Discovery or where.

Sounds like a dreadful affliction. He basically went mad and had to be hospitalized.

[Sequoia]

4. Yes, that's what happens and it comes on quickly.

Some of the victims would act out the dreams they could no longer have. Like being between sleep and wakefullness. They jerk around and have to be tied down. I firmly believe it will hit us hard in the years to come because it takes a while to kick in. Many deer (venison lovers) always have it because they were fed the protein cakes. I sure like beef and hamburgers so it's hard for me to stop. No more Sloppy Joes? Say it ain't so.

[likesmountains 52]

2. Thanks for the reminder...I have been wanting to read that..

[Hamlette]

5. thanks for the recommend, I just finished it

on your recommendation....it was a fascinating read (even if I didn't understand all the science). Great story, great book, highly recommended.

(Along the lines of Ghost Map which was my fav book of last year...well, no, one of my favs.)