THE ENIGMA OF "BANGUNGUT"
Authors: Gonzalo E. Aponte
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1960)

Article1 June 1960THE ENIGMA OF "BANGUNGUT"GONZALO E. APONTEGONZALO E. APONTEAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-52-6-1258 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptRapid, unexpected death during sleep of previously healthy Filipino men is a curious phenomenon which, although remarkably stereotyped in its clinicopathologic manifestations, has never been satisfactorily explained. It has been discussed in the American medical literature only occasionally,1but has been vividly described in a national magazine.2"Bangungut" (bangŭn'-gŭt) is the Tagalog†word for nightmare (bangun, to rise, andungul, to moan), and the victims indeed appear to be subjected to violent, terrifying dreams from which they cannot be awakened. The disorder was officially recognized as an entity in Manila in 1915, and was described in a medical publication of...Bibliography1. Nolasco JB: An inquiry into "bangungut," Arch. Int. Med. 99: 905, 1957. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. Larsen NP: The men with deadly dreams, Sat. Eve. Post 228: 20 (Dec. 3) 1955. Google Scholar3. Mendoza-Guazón P: Algunas notas sobre bangungut, Rev. Filipina de med. y farm. 3: (Nov. 11) 1917. Google Scholar4. Santa Cruz JS: The pathology of "bangungut," J. Philippine M. A. 27: 476, 1951. MedlineGoogle Scholar5. Majoska AV: Sudden death in Filipino men: an unexplained syndrome, Hawaii M. J. 7: 469, 1948. MedlineGoogle Scholar6. Manalang C: The "mystery death" of Filipinos in Hawaii, J. Philippine M. A. 24: 627, 1948. Google Scholar7. Lara MB, in symposium on "bangungut" held at the University of St. Thomas Hospital under the auspices of the Manila Medical Society, March 13, 1956. Google Scholar8. Africade LeonGarcia CMWEY: Visceral complications in intestinal heterophydiasis of man, Acta Med. Philippina Monograph Series 1: 37, 1940. Google Scholar9. GloverAlicata MAJE: Intestinal heterophydiasis, Hawaii M. J. 16: 636, 1957. MedlineGoogle Scholar10. Sison , cited by Nolasco, J. B.1 Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: GONZALO E. APONTE*Received for publication November 24, 1959.From the U. S. Naval Hospital, Guam.†A national language of the Philippines.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Gonzalo E. Aponte, M.D., Department of Pathology, The Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, 1025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. 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