The family that couldn't sleep : a medical mystery / D.T. Max.

Author/creator Max, D. T.
Format Book
EditionRandom House Trade Paperback ed.
Publication InfoNew York : Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007.
Descriptionxxxi, 299 pages ; 21 cm
Subjects
Prion diseases.
Fatal familial insomnia.
Prions.
Sleep disorders.
Prion Diseases.
Prions--adverse effects.
Insomnia, Fatal Familial.

Contents Alone in the night: Doctors' dilemma, Venice, 1765; Merino mania, England, 1772; Pietro, the Veneto, 1943 -- Pushing back the dark: Strong magic, Papua New Guinea, 1947; Docta America, Papua New Guinea, 1957; Monkey business, Bethesda, Maryland, 1965; Boh!, the Veneto, 1973; Wonderful problem for a chemist, San Francisco, late 1970s to early 1980s; Convergence, the Veneto, 1983 -- Nature pushes back: Apocalypse cow, Britain, 1986; Oinkies, Britain, 1996; World according to prions, United States/Britain, 1970s to present day; Did man eat man?, Worldwide, 8000,000 B.C.E.; Coming to America?, United States, present day -- Awakenings: For the victims of fatal familial insomnia, the Veneto, present day -- Afterword: Note on the author.
Abstract Explores prions, enigmatic brain proteins, and their influence on human life, examining the case of an Italian family victimized for two centuries by a fatal familial insomnia, and the links between prions and various brain maladies.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (p. [261]-285) and index.
LCCN 2007281890
ISBN9780812972528 (pbk.)
ISBN081297252X (pbk.)