Abstract:Abstract: Objective To study the somnipathy in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) using polysomnography (PSG). Methods Six MSA patients and 6 healthy controls underwent PSG. Total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), awaking times, sleep stages, microarousal index, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and periodic limb movement of sleep index (PLMSI) were compared between two groups. Results Compared with control group, total sleep time and sleep efficiency were lower (P<0.01), while WASO, N1 light sleep, microarousal index, AHI, and PLMSI were higher in control group (P<0.01 or 0.05). In addition, REM sleep dystonia, stridor and disturbed episodes occurred in 5, 4 and 2 MSA patients. Conclusion There is a severe somnipathy in MSA patients.