A sleeping sickness that swept its way across the globe after World War I vanishes almost as abruptly as it arrived.

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Swelling of the brain. Involuntary movements. Extreme exhaustion. A little-known and poorly understood disease swept its way across in the globe in the aftermath of World War I. But as the number of diagnoses swelled, so did the confusion. Agreeing on the symptoms was hard enough, how could anyone hope to find a cure?

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In 1991, President George H.W. Bush was hospitalized with an erratic heartbeat. For three tense days, the nation watched with bated breath, planning for the worst - until the doctor came back with a surprising diagnosis.

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Once modern medicine recognized Fatal Familial Insomnia as a disease, it faced a greater challenge of finding a cure. With research ongoing, the answer may lie in similar medical mysteries which have plagued humanity for centuries.

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Inability to sleep. Loss of coordination. Slow, painful loss of mental faculties. These are the symptoms of a mysterious disease, passed on through generations of one family. For centuries, they believed they were cursed, until the modern era brought them a diagnosis.

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Drooping eyelids. Difficulty swallowing. Weak arms. None of these symptoms by themselves seem particularly deadly. Nor do they seem like they could all be symptoms of the same illness. But they are. And the illness does kill - suddenly, and without warning. A diagnosis evaded doctors for centuries. With such a mysterious background, it seemed that a treatment for the disease was impossible. 

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With conventional medicine proving unable to cure her case of intractable hiccups, Jennifer Mee turned to unorthodox methods to get them under control. However, in 2013, the hiccups turned out to be the least of Jennifer's problems.

Parcasters - Which UFO sighting kicked off the alien craze? It wasn’t Roswell! Subscribe to Extraterrestrial today to learn about the close encounter that started it all, the Mount Rainier flying saucer sighting. Search for Extraterrestrial on Spotify to listen now!

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In 2007, 15-year-old Jennifer Mee began to hiccup. Seven weeks later, she still hadn't stopped. As doctors struggled to cure Jennifer's condition, she began to wonder if she'd have them for the rest of her life.

Parcasters - Two men, one account. The Pascagoula abduction is one of the most credible in U.S. history, but where do you stand? Follow the case this week on Extraterrestrial, available on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Around 1886, after two years on the freak show circuit, Joseph Merrick was once again in the care of the London Hospital’s top surgeon, Frederick Treves. But even Britain’s best medical minds were unsure if they could explain Joseph’s disorder before it was too late.

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