Jennifer Matthews: On her 48th birthday, Andra Litman was taken down a path unthinkable.

Andra Litman: Unless you're in this body, I don't know how you can begin to imagine.

Jennifer Matthews: This artist, attorney, and mother of was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that left her unable to even turn over in bed.

Andra Litman: You will your body to move but it's not listening.

Jennifer Matthews: Then Andra started on a new treatment. She was out of a wheelchair and on her feet in one month.

Doctor Olaf Stuve says the cancer drug rituximab (Rituxan) is the first treatment to target the B cells in patients with MS, and it could be the first effective treatment for patients when nothing else works.

Doctor Olaf Stuve: The response to the Rituxan in those patients were really dramatic, in terms of not only stopping disease progression, but really helping the patient to recover some of the neurological function.

Jennifer Matthews: these white spots hallmarks of MS are lesions on a patient's brain before treatment, after treatment, they are all gone.

Doctor Olaf Stuve: I think it will be a very effective therapy and probably more effective than what we have available at this time.

Jennifer Andra: Instead of a daily or weekly injection rituximab requires two infusions every six months.

Andra Litman: The first thought every morning when I woke up for four years was, is it a shot night.

Jennifer Matthews: Now, she can tune her thoughts to what matters most. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.