[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 227 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 227

      Designating September 2009 as ``Tay-Sachs Awareness Month''.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2009

Mr. Brown submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

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                               RESOLUTION


 
      Designating September 2009 as ``Tay-Sachs Awareness Month''.

Whereas Tay-Sachs disease is a rare, genetic disorder that causes destruction of 
        nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord due to the poor functioning of 
        an enzyme called hexosaminidase A;
Whereas there is no proven treatment or cure for Tay-Sachs disease and the 
        disease is always fatal in children;
Whereas the disorder was named after Warren Tay, an ophthalmologist from the 
        United Kingdom, and Bernard Sachs, a neurologist from the United States, 
        both of whom contributed to the discovery of the disease in the 1880s;
Whereas Tay-Sachs disease often affects families with no prior history of the 
        disease;
Whereas approximately 1 in 27 Ashkenazi Jews, 1 in 30 Louisianan Cajuns, 1 in 30 
        French Canadians, 1 in 50 Irish Americans, and 1 in every 250 people are 
        carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, which means approximately 1,500,000 
        people in the United States are carriers;
Whereas unaffected carriers of the disease possess the recessive gene that can 
        trigger the disease in future generations;
Whereas, if both parents of a child are carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, there is 
        a 1 in 4 chance that the child will develop Tay-Sachs disease;
Whereas a simple and inexpensive blood test can determine if an individual is a 
        carrier of Tay-Sachs disease, and all people in the United States, 
        especially those people who are members of high-risk populations, should 
        be screened; and
Whereas raising awareness of Tay-Sachs disease is the best way to fight this 
        horrific disease: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate designates September 2009 as ``Tay-Sachs 
Awareness Month''.
                                 <all>