To treat or not to treat?
I’ve been treated with four DMTs in my four decades of living with MS. The first was Avonex (interferon beta 1a) in 1996. Then came Tysabri (natalizumab) and Aubagio (teriflunomide). The most recent was Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) in late 2016. I believe Lemtrada was the most effective of the four, and I was 68 when this treatment began. Lemtrada halted my progression and improved some of my symptoms.
But some neurologists won’t prescribe a DMT for someone older than 50 or 60. There is some indication that the older you get, the less your MS will progress, so those doctors think you don’t need treatment. There’s also a concern that older people may poorly tolerate a DMT’s side effects.