In a rare scenario profiled on NBC's Today, 12-year-old Liam Derbyshire could conceivably die on a nightly basis -- or even with a nap -- for one unusual reason: he completely stops breathing when he falls asleep.
The British boy suffers from a rare condition called Ondine's curse, named after a mythical story about a heartbroken water nymph who curses her unfaithful husband to stop breathing should he ever fall asleep again. In medical terms, it is simply (and less dramatically) called central hypoventilation and represents an extreme form of sleep apnea. It affects about one in 30 million people, which means only several hundred people have it in the world. This disorder occurs when the brain fails to prompt breathing, as may also be seen in central sleep apnea.
Central hypoventilation may be present from birth or it may develop after damage to the brainstem, which controls the drive to breathe. The condition can also be associated with difficulty swallowing, intestinal problems called Hirschsprung's disease, or tumors called neuroblastoma.
Young Liam must sleep with a ventilator connected to a tracheostomy tube at the front of his throat. If he were to fall asleep, even for a nap, without a machine to support his breathing, he could die. This has led to an extreme level of vigilance on the part of his family, for even dozing off briefly could leave him dead.
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I really appreciate the great information provider by about.com onSleep Disorders sleep apnea can be very dangerous.
Thank you so much for the information! I used to not be able to falla sleep, but i read this article and now I fall asleep fast every night! Thank you!