Related: Not all insomnia is the same — in fact, there may be 5 types Symptoms: The hallmark symptom of FFI is insomnia, or the inability to fall or stay asleep, which progressively worsens over ...

In FFI, circadian rhythms break down and the distinction between day and night is blurred. Temperature decline associated with chronic sleep deprivation does not occur in patients with FFI.

A family were unfortunate enough to inherit an incurable sleeping disease that took the lives of dozens over multiple ...

DF's father, paternal uncle, and 2 male cousins were diagnosed with fatal familial insomnia (FFI). His father died at age 76; his uncle died at age 74; and each of DF's cousins died before the age ...

And sometimes, not being able to sleep could kill you. That’s what happens in cases of fatal familial insomnia. FFI is a degenerative brain disorder that causes people to lose their ability to ...

The genetic history of sisters Carolyn Schear (at right) and Cheryl Dinges puts them at risk for fatal familial insomnia, a deadly inability to sleep. Schear learned she doesn’t carry the gene.