# Anyone ever heard of 'sleepy sickness' (Encephalitis lethargica)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062 "2016-05-06T13:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/1 "2016-05-06T13:57:40Z")
As opposed to the somewhat better known ‘sleeping sickness’ often spread by the tsetse fly. [Here’s an old article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1991/04/09/the-puzzling-history-of-sleeping-sickness/79a1dff4-f9bf-4c6f-ae8f-ace6dd6d5f61/) that mentions it, and [here’s the wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis_lethargica) on it. Basically, at around the time of the 1918 Flu, another disease called ‘sleepy sickness’ spread and affected between five and ten million people worldwide before it was over (apparently after about 10 years). The causative agent was never identified, and it remains a mystery to this day. It was one of the features on “Mysteries at the Museum,” which showed some footage from the 1960s where [Dr. Oliver Sacks](http://www.damninteresting.com/the-sleepy-sickness/) was treating some of the patients who had basically been somewhat catatonic since they were affected. Basically, a drug used for Parkinson’s seemed to help some of them, at least temporarily. Apparently, the movie “Awakenings” (1990) [which I never saw] was partially inspired by some of Dr. Sacks’ work. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/2 "2016-05-06T14:06:58Z")
I read _Awakenings_, which has very detailed information on a number of patients with this illness. So yes, I’d heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/3 "2016-05-06T15:42:02Z")
Yes, I saw the movie. By the way, I can’t wait until this becomes a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/4 "2016-05-06T16:24:13Z")
You should absolutely see _Awakenings_, which is a really brilliant and moving film (and my favorite Robin Williams performance ever). I’ve seen the movie many times and read the book at least twice, which lead me to seek out other resources on this illness. it’s a fascinating mystery, made even more interesting by the fact that aside from Dr. Sacks’ work, it’s been almost completely forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/5 "2016-05-06T16:27:35Z")
I’ve seen the film _Awakenings_. It’s also a plot point in Neil Gaimans’s _Sandman_, where it is the result of the King of Dreams being captured and held prisoner for decades. So, yes, I’ve heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/6 "2016-05-06T16:30:32Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > As opposed to the somewhat better known ‘sleeping sickness’ often spread by the tsetse fly. [I was bitten by a _Tsetse Fly_.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx45LRgnoLo) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/7 "2016-05-06T16:56:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [I was bitten by a _Tsetse Fly_.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx45LRgnoLo) “This video is not available” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/8 "2016-05-06T16:58:36Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > “This video is not available” Really? It works for me. Here’s the url: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx45LRgnoLo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx45LRgnoLo) It’s _Tsetse Fly_ by Wall of Voodoo, which is the song that always goes through my head when I think of tsetse flies or narcolepsy. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/9 "2016-05-06T17:28:47Z")
It’s been awhile since I saw the movie Awakenings but I was under the impression that only a small number of people were affected the way Robin Williams’ character was affected. Was it really millions? Or were most somewhat affected and only a few completely affected? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/10 "2016-05-06T17:31:52Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It’s been awhile since I saw the movie Awakenings but I was under the impression that only a small number of people were affected the way Robin Williams’ character was affected. Was it really millions? Or were most somewhat affected and only a few completely affected? According to one of the cites above, it was millions _worldwide_, and over a period of about ten years. I don’t know the percentage who ended up permanently catatonic, since the information is pretty thin on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/11 "2016-05-06T17:41:26Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It’s been awhile since I saw the movie Awakenings but I was under the impression that only a small number of people were affected the way Robin Williams’ character was affected. Robin Williams played the doctor. His character _wasn’t_ affected. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/12 "2016-05-06T20:34:25Z")
I’ve heard of it, in a biological psychology class. We discussed Oliver Sacks’ work with it. Apparently there is also a designer drug–forget which one–that, if cooked the wrong way, destroys the brain’s substantia nigra and creates the same symptoms. Or that’s what I remember, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/13 "2016-05-06T22:49:41Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > {…} Apparently there is also a designer drug–forget which one–that, if cooked the wrong way, destroys the brain’s substantia nigra and creates the same symptoms. > > Or that’s what I remember, anyway. [MPTP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPTP) created while making [MPPP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmethylprodine). CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/14 "2016-05-06T23:19:54Z")
“Awakenings” is a brilliant movie that deserves to be seen, and is family-friendly. The book is also easier to read than most of Dr. Sacks’ writings, and what happened to the patients was much more complex than the movie implied. Here’s an excellent book about it that came out several years ago. > **[Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest...](https://www.amazon.com/Asleep-Forgotten-Epidemic-Medicines-Mysteries/dp/0425238733)** > > Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries \[Crosby, Molly Caldwell\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/15 "2016-05-06T23:21:32Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > [MPTP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPTP) created while making [MPPP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmethylprodine). > > CMC fnord! There’s a book about this one too. > **[The Case of the Frozen Addicts: J. William Langston, Jon Palfreman:...](https://www.amazon.com/Case-Frozen-Addicts-William-Langston/dp/0679424652)** > > The Case of the Frozen Addicts \[J. William Langston, Jon Palfreman\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Case of the Frozen Addicts ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-heard-of-sleepy-sickness-encephalitis-lethargica/754062/16 "2016-05-07T06:22:24Z")
It was mentioned in a book I read about Parkinson’s Disease. At the time, I didn’t make a distinction in my mind between this and “sleeping sickness”. It damaged the substantia nigra (a part of the brain that mediates control of the voluntary muscles), the same area that becomes degraded in Parkinson’s Disease. The implication I got from the book was that these people effectively developed Locked-In Syndrome, in which they were fully awake and aware but completely paralyzed – much like our own recently-deceased member **blinkie**. Many many years later, when some progress began to be made on treating Parkinson’s Disease with Levodopa, it was found that this was helpful for some sleepy-sickness victimes, some of whom hadn’t moved a muscle for years. Being stuck living like that must be one of the greater ways to experience Life in Hell while still alive.