Outcomes Not Necessarily Worse With Late-Onset MSNeurology 2006;67:954-959.:
"Late-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) is not always associated with worse outcomes than earlier adult-onset MS, according to a report in the September issue of Neurology.

"Previously it was assumed that any patient presenting with first symptoms of MS later in life (i.e., after around 50 years) had a poorer outlook/prognosis that those presenting earlier in life (i.e., adult-onset MS)," Dr. Helen Tremlett told Reuters Health. "However, our study indicates that this is not necessarily the case......"

'Once the disease course was determined (i.e., relapsing or primary progressive MS) there was little difference in prognosis between late-onset or adult-onset MS,' Dr. Tremlett said.
'This has real implications for those patients presenting late in life with MS,' she continued. 'Contrary to what we thought before, the prognosis (as measured by the EDSS) is likely to be the same as someone with adult-onset MS (once the presence of relapsing or primary progressive MS has been determined).'
'Our data do not justify recommending a different treatment approach in late-onset MS, other than on a case by case basis,' the authors conclude."