diag. at age 42....immune system went into a funk at age 26.....it was kind of off and on from that point. I almost went undiagnosed at 42! I had a clear MRI at that time and in 6 mos. the doc re-ran the MRI and lesions showed up.
By this time I was feeling better, so hard telling how long it would have taken for someone to do a MRI again. Thank goodness my Neuro did!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_DocSum

Neurology. 2006 Sep 26;67(6):954-9

Is late-onset multiple sclerosis associated with a worse outcome?

Tremlett H, Devonshire V.

Department of Medicine (Neurology), Rm. S159, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada. tremlett@interchange.ubc.ca

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of late-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) (LOMS, 50+ years) vs adult-onset MS (AOMS, 16 to <50 years) and examine prognosis and associated risk factors. METHODS: Patients with definite MS, onset prior to July 1988, registered with a BCMS clinic before July 1998, with at least one Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, were selected from the longitudinal population-based British Columbian (BC) MS database.

Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared between LO and AOMS. Progression was measured as time to reach sustained EDSS 6 and potential risk factors examined were sex, disease course (primary progressive [PP] vs relapsing [R]), and onset symptoms.

RESULTS: Of those eligible (n = 2,837), LOMS comprised 132 (4.7%), with PPMS predominating (54.5% vs 10.6% in AOMS, p < 0.0005). Motor onset symptoms were more prevalent in LOMS and sensory and optic neuropathy more prevalent in AOMS (p < 0.0005). AOMS averaged 27.7 years (95% CI: 26.3 to 29.1) to EDSS 6 from onset vs 16.9 years (95% CI: 9.0 to 24.8) in LOMS, p < 0.0005. However, AOMS was associated with a younger age at EDSS 6 (58.4 years [95% CI: 57.1 to 59.6] vs 71.2 years [95% CI: 65.2 to 77.3] in LOMS, p < 0.0005). There were no differences in progression between AO or LO for those with PPMS (p = 0.373) or R-MS (p = 0.438), although considerable variation was observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Late-onset multiple sclerosis (LOMS) is not necessarily associated with a worse outcome: first, progression in the primary progressive or relapsing patients differed little between late-onset vs adult-onset; secondly, those with LOMS were older when reaching Expanded Disability Status Scale 6. The disease course has a far greater implication for disease prognosis than the presence of LOMS.

PMID: 17000960 [PubMed - in process]

dx'd at 23; symptomatic at 19 (36 now).

Doug

well age is just a number,, I was 23, newly DXed with Steels disease,, then 2 yrs later, DXed with MS,, conquensident ?? could be,, my primal doctor told me,,{ his daughter has MS } he thought all along, when I was being tested in Rochestor, it was MS. all along,, I handle my MS my way,, seems to be working,,

guess i am winner (?) so far...had first symptoms and DX at 57.

am progressing at fairly rapid pace which follows that theory also....I am 64 now

thanks, all....pab

My mother is the family member with MS. She was diagnosed at age 53, and is now 78. PPMS is more common in those diagnosed after the age of 45 years, and this is the type she has. Her EDSS is 8.5.

(KLD)

i was dxd at 42. now 57.

Let me think- when i was dx, or when i HEARD him finally? 40 when told, 43 when I finally heard/listened/accepted.

I was 40 at the time. I'm 45 now.