Insomnia
Insomia is having a difficulty with falling or staying asleep. It is more common in women [1]. Insomnia can occur if a patient is worried or stressed, it can lead to daytime tiredness which can cause poor performances at work. A self help measure for trying to avoid Insomnia is to not take naps during the day [2][3].
Fatal Familial Insomnia
Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is an extremely rare and devastating condition. As suggested by it's name, FFI is a hereditary disease caused by a mutation in the protein prion gene [4] and although the onset of the disease is generally around middle age; once symptoms appear death usually occurs within one year.
Symptoms include [5]:
- Progressive Insomnia
- Dysautonomia
- Cognitive Decline
- Loss of Motor Skills
Genetic cause [6]
Fatal Familial Insomnia is caused by a change in an amino acid residue at position 178. This change is from a negatively charged aspartic acid to an asparagine residue. In short hand this is written as D178N. However the only change in the amino acid residue structure is a substitution of an oxygen atom for a nitrogen atom.
References:
- ↑ NHS - http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insomnia/Pages/Introduction.aspx (Last reviewed: 11/09/2009)
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/insomnia1.shtml
- ↑ http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/insomnia.html#3
- ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713095
- ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15311348
- ↑ Prusiner S.B.(1994):180 Prion diseases: of humans and animals, London: Royal College of Physicians of London