(KUTV) The FDA has approved a new drug to help control multiple sclerosis, a disease in which the body attacks its own nervous system. A benefit of this new drug is that it comes in pill form.In 2010, Lisa Liddell started having symptoms of multiple sclerosis. However, it took doctors months to make the diagnosis.Before her diagnosis, Lisa worked for the Air Force. Now, she has to cope with the day-to-day challenges of MS.There are medications that slow the progression of MS, but traditionally, the medications came with side effects.A new drug for patients with multiple sclerosis, called Tecfidera, not only helps slow the progression of the disease, but doctors say it also helps control pain.It has both an anti-inflammatory mechanism, so it knocks down the swelling, and inflammation, and movement of immune cells into the brain, Liddell says.Unlike other MS treatments that require injections, Tecfidera comes in pill form.Lisa will begin the new drug soon. She hopes the medication will help keep the disease from taking time away from the people she cares about the most.I have a 5-year-old son, Liddell says. He is getting into sports. And I always played sports. I want to be out there with him. I dont want to be confined to a wheel chair, or not be able to get out there.Like any medication, Tecfidera comes with side effects, but doctors say the side effects should go away with time.For information on the Salt Lake City MS Walk on Saturday, click here.(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)
