Big news from the medical world. The Federal Drug Administration announced their approval of the first pill to treat the underlying causes of multiple sclerosis. That pill is called Gilenya and is made by a Swiss drug maker. It's promising to reduce relapses in patients with MS who experience loss of balance and muscle spasms. The medical world along with the estimated 400,000 MS patients here in the United States are excited because before this pill, patients had to get injections of do IV therapies. Many doctors say that discourages patients from even continuing their care. Pronews 7 spoke with the local MS Society and they agree, it's very exciting news.

"The only therapies available have been IV therapies or injectables and so for people who have to take daily or weekly shots to help control their disease this is a really huge step for them to be able to have an oral medication that can maybe replace some of the pain," said April Brownlee, Development Manager at MS Society.

For those living with MS in our area, we encourage you to talk with your medical doctor about this new pill. We have attached links to the MS Society website who have plenty of information for you to browse through.