Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 5;21(7):30.
doi: 10.1007/s11910-021-01121-2.

Sleep Disorders in Mitochondrial Diseases

Valerio Brunetti  1 , Giacomo Della Marca  1   2 , Serenella Servidei  1   2 , Guido Primiano  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Sleep Disorders in Mitochondrial Diseases

Valerio Brunetti et al. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: We aim to summarize the sleep disorders reported in patients affected by primary mitochondrial dysfunctions and describe the association with their clinical and molecular characteristics.

Recent findings: Sleep complaints are prevalent in mitochondrial disorders. Sleep-disordered breathing is the main sleep disorder reported in mitochondrial diseases. OSA and CSA are, respectively, more frequently associated with patients characterized by the prevalent involvement of the skeletal muscle and the predominant involvement of the central nervous system. Other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome, have been rarely described. Sleep disorders are frequently associated with primary mitochondrial disorders, and the clinical phenotypes affect the type of sleep disturbance associated with the mitochondrial dysfunction. A polysomnographic study should be performed in every subject with this neurogenetic disorder both at diagnosis and during follow-up for the numerous adverse clinical outcomes associated with sleep disorders and the frailty of mitochondrial patients.

Keywords: Mitochondria; Mitochondrial disease; Obstructive sleep apnea; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Sleep-disordered breathing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Luft R. The development of mitochondrial medicine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994;91(19):8731–8738. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bratic A, Larsson NG. The role of mitochondria in aging. J Clin Invest. 2013;123(3):951–957. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Picca A, Mankowski RT, Burman JL, Donisi L, Kim JS, Marzetti E, et al. Mitochondrial quality control mechanisms as molecular targets in cardiac ageing. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2018;15(9):543–554. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schapira AH. Mitochondrial diseases. Lancet. 2012;379(9828):1825–1834. - PubMed
    1. Suomalainen A, Battersby BJ. Mitochondrial diseases: the contribution of organelle stress responses to pathology. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2018;19(2):77–92. - PubMed

MeSH terms