[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 685 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 685

  Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of sickle cell 
                    disease by Dr. James B. Herrick.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2010

   Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Cochran) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of sickle cell 
                    disease by Dr. James B. Herrick.

Whereas sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that affects red blood 
        cells leading to significant morbidity and mortality in nearly 80,000 
        people in the United States;
Whereas sickle cell disease causes blockage of small blood vessels which can 
        lead to tissue damage resulting in severe pain, infection, or stroke;
Whereas scientific breakthroughs over the past century have improved the lives 
        of millions of people suffering from sickle cell disease;
Whereas scientific advances in treatment for sickle cell disease began with Dr. 
        James B. Herrick, an attending physician at Presbyterian Hospital and 
        professor of medicine at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, who 
        discovered sickle cell disease and published the first recorded case in 
        Western medical literature in November of 1910 in the journal Annals of 
        Internal Medicine;
Whereas the hemoglobin mutation responsible for sickle cell disease was 
        discovered by Linus Pauling in 1950;
Whereas penicillin was proven to be effective as a preventative strategy against 
        pneumococcal infection in 1986, sparing patients with sickle cell 
        disease from contracting this particularly dangerous infection;
Whereas in 1995, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reported the 
        first effective drug treatment for adults with severe sickle cell 
        disease;
Whereas the anticancer drug hydroxyurea was found to reduce the frequency of 
        painful crises of sickle cell disease and patients taking the drug 
        needed fewer blood transfusions;
Whereas in 1996, bone marrow transplantation was discovered to improve the 
        course of sickle cell disease for select patients;
Whereas in 1997, blood transfusions were found to help prevent stroke in 
        patients with sickle cell disease;
Whereas the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine in 2000 revolutionized the 
        prevention of lethal infections in children and adults with sickle cell 
        disease;
Whereas the first mouse model demonstrating the usefulness of genetic therapy 
        for sickle cell disease was developed in 2001;
Whereas in 2007, scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the 
        Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed an animal model for 
        curing sickle cell disease;
Whereas improvements in treatments have substantially improved quality of life 
        for patients with sickle cell disease and led to an increase in overall 
        life expectancy from 14 years in 1973 to the mid to late 40s in 2010; 
        and
Whereas the National Institutes of Health sponsored a symposium on November 16 
        and 17, 2010, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Dr. James 
        Herrick's initial description of sickle cell disease: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the contributions of the biomedical research 
        community to the improvement in diagnosis and treatment of 
        sickle cell disease; and
            (2) commemorates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of 
        sickle cell disease in November 1910.
                                 <all>