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A brief bout of insomnia can be maddening. You know what it feels like. We all do. Lying awake chasing feverish thoughts from our minds while the slow tick of passing minutes compounds sleep-stealing anxiety.

For most of us these episodes are a brief interruption to our sleep schedules. Others experience more persistent insomnia, but at a level that’s often manageable. But for a very rare group of people with a frightening disease called fatal fami