Do Disease-Modifying Therapies Benefit Patients with Late-Onset Multiple Sclerosis?

A registry study associated these therapies with lower relapse rates and MRI activity but not with an impact on disability progression.

Patients with late-onset multiple sclerosis (LOMS), defined as disease onset at age 55 or later, face unique therapeutic challenges because LOMS is linked to lower inflammatory activity and more comorbidities than adult-onset MS (NEJM JW Neurol Mar 26 2024 and Neurology 2024; 102:e208051). In a retrospective French registry study of 881 patients, researchers used propensity matching to compare outcomes in cohorts of patients with relapsing-remitting LOMS who were treated or not-yet-treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). The key findings included the following:

Treatment with DMTs was associated with significantly longer time to first relapse (7.0 vs. 5.4 years) and first MRI activity (5.9 vs. 5.0 years).
The groups showed no signifi…

Reviewing Author

Robert T. Naismith, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAlexion Pharmaceuticals; Amgen; Astoria; Biogen; Bristol Myers Squibb; Celltrion; Genentech; Hoffmann-La Roche; Genzyme; EMD Serono; Immpact-Bio; Immunic Therapeutics; Kyverna; Lundbeck; Novartis; Sandoz; TG Therapeutics

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; National Multiple Sclerosis Society; U.S. Department of Defense

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesConsortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (Treasurer)

Robert T. Naismith, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; National Multiple Sclerosis Society; U.S. Department of Defense

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesConsortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (Treasurer)

Do Disease-Modifying Therapies Benefit Patients with Late-Onset Multiple Sclerosis?

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Reviewing Author