The role of sleep in multiple sclerosis.

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmunity-related disorder that mainly affects young adults. The high prevalence of the disease and its impact on patients' quality of life led researchers to investigate the etiopathogenesis of the disease to identify possible modifiable factors and consequent effective intervention strategies. Recent hypotheses suggest that the etiopathogenesis of MS is multifactorial and includes factors related to the immune system, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. In this scenario, sleep seems to have a close indirect relationship with MS, through its relationship with each of those factors and given the high incidence of sleep disorders in the MS population. Furthermore, given the growing interest of research in the mechanisms underlying MS and therapies able to alleviate MS-related symptoms at all stages of the disease, a more in-depth study of the role of sleep and its loss and disturbances and the factors intrinsically related to sleep and MS could be useful both to investigate the etiopathogenetic factors of MS and to develop non-invasive intervention strategies for MS treatment.