1Designating the month of May 2013 as "Amyotrophic Lateral
2Sclerosis Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is better known
4as Lou Gehrig's Disease; and

5WHEREAS, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease
6characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower motor
7neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horn of the spinal
8cord; and

9WHEREAS, The initial symptom of ALS is weakness of the
10skeletal muscles, especially those of the extremities; and

11WHEREAS, As ALS progresses, the patient experiences
12difficulty in swallowing, talking and breathing; and

13WHEREAS, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the

1patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and

2WHEREAS, ALS does not affect a patient's mental capacity, so
3that the patient remains alert and aware of his or her loss of
4motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued
5deterioration and death; and

6WHEREAS, ALS occurs in adulthood, most commonly between the
7ages of 40 and 70 years of age, with the peak age about 55 years
8of age, and affects men two or three times more often than
9women; and

10WHEREAS, More than 5,000 new ALS patients are diagnosed
11annually; and

12WHEREAS, On average, patients diagnosed with ALS only survive
13two to five years from the time of diagnosis; and

14WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, prevention or cure; and

15WHEREAS, "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month"
16increases the public's awareness of ALS patients' circumstances
17and acknowledges the terrible impact this disease has not only
18on the patient but on his or her family as well and recognizes
19the research being done to eradicate this horrible disease;
20therefore be it

21RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
22month of May 2013 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness
23Month" in Pennsylvania.