[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1193 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1193

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a 
  critical need to increase research, awareness, and education about 
                   cerebral cavernous malformations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2008

 Mr. Udall of New Mexico submitted the following resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a 
  critical need to increase research, awareness, and education about 
                   cerebral cavernous malformations.

Whereas cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), or cavernous angioma, is a 
        devastating blood vessel disease that has enormous consequences for 
        those affected and their families;
Whereas cavernous angiomas are malformations in the brain that cannot be 
        detected easily except through very specific medical imaging scans;
Whereas those with a cavernous angioma should not take blood thinners or 
        aspirin, but are rarely aware that they have the disease;
Whereas in the general population 1 in approximately 200 people has a cavernous 
        angioma and about 1/3 of these affected people become symptomatic at 
        some point in their lives;
Whereas there is a hereditary form of the illness, caused by a mutation or 
        deletion on any one of 3 genes that is characterized by multiple 
        cavernous malformations;
Whereas each child born to parents with the hereditary form of the illness has a 
        50 percent chance of having cerebral cavernous malformation;
Whereas a specific genetic mutation of cerebral cavernous malformation called 
        the common Hispanic mutation has been identified, has been traced to the 
        original Spanish settlers of the 1590s, and has now spread down and 
        across at least 17 generations of families;
Whereas the State of New Mexico has the highest population density of this 
        illness in the country, but Hispanic families and those of all other 
        ethnicities throughout the Nation are at risk;
Whereas a person with cavernous malformations may go undiagnosed until sudden 
        death, seizure, or stroke;
Whereas there is a shortage of physicians who are familiar with the illness;
Whereas this shortage makes it difficult for affected individuals to receive 
        timely diagnosis and appropriate care;
Whereas the shortage of physicians who are familiar with the illness has a 
        disproportionate impact on thousands of Hispanics across the Nation; and
Whereas cerebral cavernous malformation has been understudied by the National 
        Institutes of Health and others: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
there is a critical need to increase research, awareness, and education 
about cerebral cavernous malformations.
                                 <all>