When Healthcare Providers do not Ask, Patients Rarely Tell: The Importance of Sexual Counselling in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a relatively frequent inflammatory autoimmune illness of the central nervous system affecting about 2.5 million people around the world, and represents the most common cause of neurological disability among young adults. Indeed, the disease can affect sensory-motor, autonomic and cognitive function potentially leading to a high prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD). Thus, the identification of barriers to help seeking for sexual concerns in patients with MS is an important, although still overlooked, issue. Aim of this overview is to briefly investigate the role of sexual counselling in managing SD in individuals with MS, highlighting the importance for the clinicians to get more knowledge about; the pathophysiology, assessment and treatment of MS-related SD.