There is mounting scientific evidence showing the importance of innate biological rhythms on disease onset and progression. Perhaps the most important of these is the circadian rhythm, a cycle of oscillations lasting approximately 24 h. Recent work has shown that circadian rhythms are intrinsically linked to the immune system in a bidirectional fashion, and that disruption of these cycles can contribute to changes in pathology and quality of life (including fatigue, mood, and disability). This is particularly true in diseases of the nervous and immune systems. We review here the current preclinical and clinical literature to highlight interactions between circadian rhythms and multiple sclerosis, as well as its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. We highlight potential benefits of chronotherapy (the temporal administration of immunomodulatory drugs) in an effort to increase treatment efficacy and reduce the negative side-effects of the drugs that often burden those suffering from the disease.

越来越多的科学证据表明先天性生物节律对疾病发作和进展的重要性。其中最重要的也许是昼夜节律，这是一个持续约24小时的振荡周期。最近的研究表明，昼夜节律与免疫系统具有双向的内在联系，而这些周期的破坏会导致病理学和生活质量的改变（包括疲劳，情绪和残疾）。在神经和免疫系统疾病中尤其如此。我们在这里回顾当前的临床前和临床文献，以突出昼夜节律与多发性硬化之间的相互作用，以及其动物模型，实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎。