Ondine's curse

Ondine's curse, also called congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) or primary alveolar hypoventilation, is a respiratory disorder that is fatal if it is untreated. People who suffer from Ondine's curse classically do it as well from respiratory arrest while sleeping.

Every episodes of apnea occur while sleeping, but in a few patients, apnea also occurs while being awake. Symptoms are darkening of skin color from inadequate amounts of oxygen, drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, and an inability for sleeping at night. Victims of Ondine's curse also suffer from a sensitivity to sedatives and narcotics which makes breathing even more difficult for the patient. A low concentration of oxygen in the red blood cells may also cause high blood pressure and, in the end, cardiopulmonar failures.

This is a very rare and serious form of central nervous system failure, which includes inability to control one’s breathing. One child out of 200,000 ones suffer from this disease.