III 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 685 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

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.