28 September 2010

Creepy. As. Hell.

I was wandering around on the Internet today...and found this disease called "Fatal Familial Insomnia." And pardon my English, but this disease is just one of the most fucked up diseases of all time.
All right. I only found this today, so my understanding of this is not perfect. Feel free to research and correct me.
So what happens is that there are proteins, like, everywhere in your body, yeah? So there are proteins in your brain. These are prions. Well, what happens sometimes is that the proteins in your brain mutate. (The mutation is normally genetic, and 50%. If your mom had it but your dad didn't, you've got a fifty percent chance of getting this.)
Once this mutation happens, you are, essentially, dead man walking. The prions, essentially,eat the part of the brain that lets you sleep. Okay? So you have constant insomnia, until you die, which is in about nine months after total insomnia hits.
The bitch about this disease? You can't sleep through it. The lack of sleep gives you all sorts of issues. You lose control of autonomic systems - like sweating. Stuff you'd do normally.
But you are still awake. You know what's happening to you. You know you're going to die. You can talk to your family, despite the fact that you have not slept for nine months.
In my opinion, that's the most horrible fucking thing in the world. Fatality is 100% because once you've lost the ability to sleep, the little lizard in the back of your brain...you know, the one that says "breathe, sweat, eat, blink"...goes insane.
And you're awake to see it happen.

2 comments:

  1. Hi there.
    So, I felt a need to come along, read your blog, comment, thank you for commenting on my blog, and following (serious happy jig there) and such things of... stuffness.
    And then I see this post.
    And I can't process...
    It's creepy. Yes.
    And you'll know I really dislike someone when I say to them "I hope you have Fatal Familial Insomnia."
    And yet... It bursts into my brain as a potential Nano plot twist.
    I mean, how can I not be cruel and demanding towards my characters, making one of them stay awake for nine months and die?
    Or... you know... something of the sort.

    So. Anyway...
    Thank you for the comment on my blog, and (as any perceptive person might notice) I'm now following yours as well. I admit my interest has been piqued.
    No pun intended.
    So yeah...
    I'm done now.

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  2. Thanks for commenting! I pretty much just word-vomit on here. I look stuff up and think it's cool or wierd or...creepy.
    That said, expect something up eventually about harlequin ichthyosis. And lots of stuff about Nikola Tesla. Although I'll never have a chance to write about either in my nanonovel *tear*

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