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Article: Doctors report case of fatal insomnia
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- May 27, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Researchers today are reporting the unusual case of a man who had
insomnia so severe he died from lack of sleep.
After a year of sleepless nights, the man "began to have
difficulty separating dreams from reality," doctors report. He died
four months later.
Researchers previously had documented 24 cases of fatal insomnia
that ran in families. The new case is the first instance of fatal
insomnia that does not appear to have a genetic cause. There is no
cure.
The case is reported in the New England Journal of Medicine by
researchers at the University of Chicago and University of California
at San Francisco.
The case involved a 44-year-old California man who had no previous
difficulty sleeping. ...