Posted: | May 15, 2017 10:19 AM |
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From: | Senator Lawrence M. Farnese, Jr. |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Recognizing May 2017 as “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness (ALS) Month” in Pennsylvania |
I will soon be introducing a resolution recognizing May 2017 as “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness (ALS) Month” in Pennsylvania. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. As the disease progresses, patients experience difficulty breathing, swallowing and speaking and eventually, muscles atrophy so that the patient becomes a functional quadriplegic. At the same time, ALS does not affect a patient’s mental capacity, so the patient remains alert and aware of his or her loss of motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued deterioration and death. Currently, there is no known cause, means of prevention, or cure. However, on May 5, 2017, the FDA approved the first new ALS drug in 22 years, Radicava, which is a significant boost for ALS families. You can read more about Radicava here: http://www.alsa.org/research/radicava/ . ALS most commonly affects those between the ages of 40 and 70 years and affects both men and women without bias. Members of the military are two times more likely to be diagnosed with ALS than the general population, making ALS a service connected disease. The ALS Association supports over 1,000 people with Lou Gehrig's Disease in Pennsylvania. They support families with ALS at Multidisciplinary Clinics in every region of the state. They also provide services such as in-home care, wheelchairs, home ramping, support groups, education programs, communication devices, and van transportation. A list of ALS association clinics in Pennsylvania can be found at http://webwpawv.alsa.org/site/PageNavigator/WPAWV_8_Clinics.html . The ALS Association also provides more money for ALS research than any other organization aside from the federal government. Please join me in recognizing and providing education on the terrible impacts of this disease by co-sponsoring this resolution. |