ArticleFrontiers in neurology2017
Meta-analysis of the Age-Dependent Efficacy of Multiple Sclerosis Treatments.
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04496830 (Cerebrospinal Fluid-biomarkers-based Diagnostic and Prognostic Models for Multiple Sclerosis), which is not on this map. Cited by 172 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Cerebrospinal Fluid-biomarkers-based Diagnostic and Prognostic Models for Multiple Sclerosis
Who cites it
172 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 297 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Stopping Disease-Modifying Treatments in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Real-World Studies.CNS drugs · 2023Pooled it
- Current Status and Future Opportunities in Modeling Clinical Characteristics of Multiple Sclerosis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Randomized controlled trial of a remotely-delivered exercise training program in older adults with multiple sclerosis: Secondary effects on cognition, symptoms, and quality of life.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2026Trial
- Remotely-delivered exercise training program among older adults with multiple sclerosis: Feasibility results of a randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2026Trial
- Clemastine fumarate accelerates accumulation of disability in progressive multiple sclerosis by enhancing pyroptosis.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025Trial
- Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparisons of Diroximel Fumarate, Ponesimod, and Teriflunomide for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis.CNS drugs · 2023Trial
- Idebenone does not inhibit disability progression in primary progressive MS.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2020Trial
- Clinical and MRI efficacy of sc IFN β-1a tiw in patients with relapsing MS appearing to transition to secondary progressive MS: post hoc analyses of PRISMS and SPECTRIMS.Journal of neurology · 2020Trial
- Consistent control of disease activity with fingolimod versus IFN β-1a in paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis: further insights from PARADIGJournal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers link toxic astrogliosis and microglial activation to multiple sclerosis severity.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2019Trial
- [XVIII Post-ECTRIMS Meeting: Review of the New Developments Presented at the 2025 ECTRIMS Congress (Part II)].Revista de neurologia · 2026Article
- Rethinking prognosis in multiple sclerosis: a multiaxial perspective.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Aging with multiple sclerosis and associated prevalence, incidence, comorbidities and healthcare utilization patterns in a population based study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The impact of age on efficacy and safety of disease modifying treatment-insights from the Austrian Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Registry.Journal of neurology · 2026Observational
- Managing Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Across the Lifespan: A Narrative Review with Expert Opinion from Norway.Neurology and therapy · 2026Review
- Ocrelizumab-Induced Brain Volume Dynamics in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The role of age in choosing high-efficacy treatment for multiple sclerosis: an Austrian MS Database study.Journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Diminishing returns of disease-modifying treatment in older participants of multiple sclerosis clinical trials.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2026Article
112 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo perform a meta-analysis of randomized, blinded, multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials, to test the hypothesis that efficacy of immunomodulatory disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on MS disability progression is strongly dependent on age.
methodsWe performed a literature search with pre-defined criteria and extracted relevant features from 38 clinical trials that assessed efficacy of DMTs on disability progression. We fit a linear regression, weighted for trial sample size, and duration, to examine the hypothesis that age has a defining effect on the therapeutic efficacy of immunomodulatory DMTs.
resultsMore than 28,000 MS subjects participating in trials of 13 categories of immunomodulatory drugs are included in the meta-analysis. The efficacy of immunomodulatory DMTs on MS disability strongly decreased with advancing age (
conclusionThe meta-analysis supports the notion that progressive MS is simply a later stage of the MS disease process and that age is an essential modifier of a drug efficacy. Higher efficacy treatments exert their benefit over lower efficacy treatments only during early stages of MS, and, after age 53, the model suggests that there is no predicted benefit to receiving immunomodulatory DMTs for the
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.