No this is not the UK Governments plan to fleece English Kids to pay the bloated salaries of CEOs of the Universities, by increasing their fees. What a mess, and its a so called socialist Government killing the aspirations of the poor.
OK Rant over……but what a mess.
This is another plan cut peoples drugs because they are over a certain age
Piedrabuena MA, Correale J, Silva B, Fiol M, Marrodan M, Zárate MA, Heriz A, Ayerbe J, Míguez J, Pita C, Lázaro L, Casas M, López PA, Tkachuk V, Balbuena ME, Nadur D, Liwacki S, Luetic G, Burgos M, Casales F, Contentti EC, Zanga G, Steinberg J, Mainella C, Tavolini D, Hryb J, Leguizamón F, Cassará FP, José G, Nofal P, Alonso R, Luis B, Ysrraelit MC. Efficacy and safety of Cladribine as a therapeutic option in multiple sclerosis patients over 50 years of age: A real-world study. J Neurol Sci. 2025 Oct 14;478:123727. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2025.123727.
Background: Despite an aging multiple sclerosis (MS) population, clinical outcomes and long-term effects of disease-modifying therapies in patients aged ≥50 years remain under-studied.
Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of cladribine in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients aged <50 versus ≥50 years.
Methods: In this retrospective, observational multicenter study, 366 RRMS patients treated with cladribine (cumulative dose 3.5 mg/kg) were included. Patients were stratified by age at treatment initiation (<50 years, n = 317; ≥50 years, n = 49). Outcomes included annualized relapse rate (ARR), MRI activity, percentage of patients without EDSS progression, and no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) at 12 and 24 months. Safety endpoints encompassed lymphocyte nadirs, infection, and malignancy rates.
Results: At baseline, the ≥50-year cohort had longer disease duration (9.8 ± 7.9 vs. 6.6 ± 5.3 years; p < 0.001) and higher EDSS (2.6 ± 1.6 vs. 1.7 ± 1.6; p = 0.001). Eighteen patients aged <50 years (5.7 %) discontinued cladribine before the second course due to breakthrough clinical or radiological activity; all patients ≥50 years completed both courses. After treatment, ARR was lower in the older cohort (0.02 vs. 0.11; p = 0.001). Percentage of patients free of EDSS progression was similar in both groups (97.3 ± 16.2 in <50 years versus 95.9 ± 20 in ≥50 years p = 0.6). NEDA-3 rates at 12 months were 73.2 % (<50 years) versus 77.6 % (≥50 years; p = 0.53) and at 24 months were 90.5 % versus 98.0 % (p = 0.31). Treatment failure occurred in 8.1 % of patients aged <50 years versus 3.0 % of those aged ≥50 years (p = 0.47). Lymphocyte nadirs were similar in both groups. Only one <50 year patient developed grade 4 lymphopenia. Infection (8.1 % vs. 2.3 %; p = 0.21) and malignancy rates (2.0 % vs. 0.6 %; p = 0.86) were similar between groups.
Conclusions: Cladribine demonstrated sustained efficacy and a favorable safety profile in RRMS patients across age groups. The ≥50-year cohort showed a significantly lower ARR and no early treatment discontinuations due to clinical or radiological activity. These findings support its utility in the management of older patients with RRMS.
Source: multiple-sclerosis-research.org