tinhuvielartanis | Tin's Bright Corner of the World

So I haven't slept well for the past two nights. I've got red blotches on my eyes, which are rolling around in my head like two hyperactive marbles. When I heard about the Canadian case of Mad Cow Disease, it triggered a memory of an article on Fatal Famial Insomnia that I read a few months back. I remember reading that FFI is related to Mad Cow Disease as they are both prion diseases. Anyway, it's probably got to be the worst disease a person could have and actually sounds more like an ancient curse than a real disease. In a nutshell, this is what it does as taken from an article by Ann M. Akroush:

There are four stages of the disease before an individual's life ends. The first stage is progressive insomnia, the trade mark of fatal familial insomnia. The first stage develops over approximately four months and includes a collection of psychiatric problems such as panic attacks and bizarre phobias. The second stage includes hallucinations, panic, agitation and sweating and lasts about five months. The third stage lasts about three months and is total insomnia with weight loss. The individual at this point looks much older and may experience incontinence. The fourth stage is around six months long and is recognized as dementia, total insomnia and sudden death after becoming mute.

I guess I'll be thinking happy thoughts about FFI as I lie awake tonight with the heebie-jeebies.