There are some drugs that are already prescribed for MS, but all require injections. So when doctors found a pill they thought might work, Marjorie Fujara thought her prayers might be answered.

Fujara recently adopted 8-month-old Mariana from Guatemala. Fujara said she was ready for the challenges of motherhood, but at age 41, she faces a more serious challenge.

Eight years ago, doctors diagnosed Fujara with multiple sclerosis.

	Marjorie Fujara suffers from multiple sclerosis.

"It was devastating," she said. "My mother was diagnosed with MS and had a very aggressive course with hers."

Fujara's mother died from MS after 12 years. Today, she is in a trial to test a new treatment -- a drug that is used for diabetes.

"The relationship between Type 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, there probably isn't any really strong correlation, and it's just a serendipitous discovery that we came across," said Neuroscientist Douglas Feinstein.

The drug pioglitazone is known to Type 2 diabetes patients as Actos. Lab studies using the drug for MS look encouraging.

So far, things are looking good for Fujara, as well. Her symptoms are not flaring up as often, and she has no side effects.

	A drug commonly used among diabetics is showing promise in treating MS.

"Just knowing there are people -- bright, dedicated researchers -- out there, really gives me a lot of hope," she said.

If the study results continue to show promise, pioglitazone could become the first treatment for MS taken in pill form -- eliminating the need for injections.

The new drug trial for MS is nearly half over. Researchers at the University of Illinois expect to release the results in the spring of 2006.

Researchers around the world are also testing the same drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

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