THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY FARNESE, ORIE, STACK, KASUNIC, TARTAGLIONE, EARLL, M. WHITE, RAFFERTY, FONTANA, COSTA, SCARNATI, GREENLEAF, TOMLINSON, ERICKSON, BROWNE, HUGHES, PIPPY, YAW, BOSCOLA, PILEGGI, FERLO, SCHWANK, FOLMER, WASHINGTON, KITCHEN, BREWSTER, BRUBAKER AND LEACH, MAY 2, 2011

INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 2, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Designating the month of May 2011 as "Amyotrophic Lateral

Sclerosis Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and memorializing

the President and the Congress of the United States to enact

legislation to provide additional funding for research in

order to find a treatment and cure for the disease.

WHEREAS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is better known

as Lou Gehrig's Disease; and

WHEREAS, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease

characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the upper and

lower motor neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horn of

the spinal cord; and

WHEREAS, The initial symptom of ALS is weakness of the

skeletal muscles, especially those of the extremities; and

WHEREAS, As ALS progresses, the patient experiences

difficulty in swallowing, talking and breathing; and

WHEREAS, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the

patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and

WHEREAS, ALS does not affect a patient's mental capacity, so

that the patient remains alert and aware of his or her loss of

motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued

deterioration and death; and

WHEREAS, The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War

Veterans’ Illnesses, created by Congress, stated in its most

recent report that "The most serious condition reported to

affect Gulf War veterans at a higher than expected rate is

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,* * *"; and

WHEREAS, An increased number of military veterans, regardless

of branch of service and what war they were involved in, are at

greater risk for being diagnosed with this disease than those

who did not serve in the military, resulting in the creation of

the National Registry of Veterans with ALS to track this

information; and

WHEREAS, ALS occurs in adulthood, most commonly between the

ages of 40 and 70 years of age, with the peak age about 55 years

of age, and affects men two or three times more often than

women; and

WHEREAS, Annually, more than 5,500 new ALS patients are

diagnosed throughout the nation; and

WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, there are currently 1,200

individuals that have been formally diagnosed with ALS; and

WHEREAS, On average, the ALS Association reported in 2009

that patients diagnosed with ALS only survive two to five years

from the time of diagnosis; and

WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, prevention or cure; and

WHEREAS, "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month"

increases the public's awareness of ALS patients' circumstances

and acknowledges the terrible impact this disease has not only

on the patient but on his or her family as well and recognizes

the research being done to eradicate this horrible disease;

therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania designate the month

of May 2011 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month"

in Pennsylvania; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to

the President of the United States, to the presiding officers of

each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from

Pennsylvania showing our support for research and needed

services for patients living with this deadly disease.