Nusinersen listed on PBS for adults with SMA
Nusinersen (Spinraza) is now available on the PBS for adults with 5q Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
From 1 August 2022 the anti-sense oligonucleotide therapy is available for adults with SMA and symptom onset prior to their 19th birthday.
Spinraza, marketed by Biogen, has been available on the PBS since June 2018 for children with SMA who present with symptoms prior to three years of age, and since 2020 for infants with pre-symptomatic SMA.
However until now there have been no treatment options available for adults living with SMA, advocates say.
Aussie RRMS patients take to teriflunomide
A real world cohort of Australian patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who were newly initiated on teriflunomide showed high treatment satisfaction and adherence up to 48 weeks, neurologists from NSW have reported.
Led by Dr Todd Hardy and Professor Steve Vucic of the Department of Neurology, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, a prospective, open-label, multicentre, observational study (AubPRO) was conducted in 13 hospital-based neurology clinics around Australia.
The results published in BMJ Neurology Open, showed that patient-reported measures of disability, physical and emotional health remained stably low. Likewise measures of mobility, work capacity and daily life activity improved, and most patients remained relapse-free, the study investigators said.