[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S8629]]
                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 546--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A NATIONAL 
POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE AWARENESS WEEK TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND 
UNDERSTANDING OF POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND TO FOSTER UNDERSTANDING 
  OF THE IMPACT POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE HAS ON PATIENTS AND FUTURE 
                     GENERATIONS OF THEIR FAMILIES

  Mr. DeWINE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 546

       Whereas polycystic kidney disease (known as ``PKD'') is the 
     most prevalent life-threatening genetic disease in the United 
     States, is a severe, dominantly inherited disease that has a 
     devastating impact, in both human and economic terms, on 
     people of all ages, and affects equally people of all races, 
     sexes, nationalities, geographic locations, and income 
     levels;
       Whereas, based on prevalence estimates by the National 
     Institutes of Health, it is estimated that about 600,000 
     patients in the United States have a genetic inheritance from 
     1 or both parents called polycystic kidney disease, and that 
     countless additional friends, loved ones, spouses, and 
     caregivers must shoulder the physical, emotional, and 
     financial burdens that polycystic kidney disease causes;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease, for which there is no 
     cure, is 1 of the 4 leading causes of kidney failure in the 
     United States;
       Whereas the vast majority of polycystic kidney disease 
     patients reach kidney failure at an average age of 53, 
     causing a severe strain on dialysis and kidney 
     transplantation resources and on the delivery of health care 
     in the United States, as the largest segment of the 
     population of the United States, the ``baby boomers'', 
     continues to age;
       Whereas end stage renal disease is one of the fastest 
     growing components of the Medicare budget, and polycystic 
     kidney disease contributes to that cost by an estimated 
     $2,000,000,000 annually for dialysis, kidney transplantation, 
     and related therapies;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a systemic disease 
     that causes damage to the kidney and the cardiovascular, 
     endocrine, hepatic, and gastrointestinal organ systems and 
     instills in patients a fear of an unknown future with a life-
     threatening genetic disease and apprehension over possible 
     genetic discrimination;
       Whereas the severity of the symptoms of polycystic kidney 
     disease and the limited public awareness of the disease 
     causes many patients to live in denial and forego regular 
     visits to their physicians or to avoid following good health 
     management which would help avoid more severe complications 
     when kidney failure occurs;
       Whereas people who have chronic, life-threatening diseases 
     like polycystic kidney disease have a predisposition to 
     depression (7 times the national average) and its resultant 
     consequences due to their anxiety over pain, suffering, and 
     premature death;
       Whereas the Senate and taxpayers of the United States 
     desire to see treatments and cures for disease and would like 
     to see results from investments in research conducted by the 
     National Institutes of Health and from such initiatives as 
     the NIH Roadmap to the Future;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a verifiable example 
     of how collaboration, technological innovation, scientific 
     momentum, and public-private partnerships can generate 
     therapeutic interventions that directly benefit polycystic 
     kidney disease sufferers, save billions of Federal dollars 
     under Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs for dialysis, 
     kidney transplants, immunosuppressant drugs, and related 
     therapies, and make available several thousand openings on 
     the kidney transplant waiting list;
       Whereas improvements in diagnostic technology and the 
     expansion of scientific knowledge about polycystic kidney 
     disease have led to the discovery of the 3 primary genes that 
     cause polycystic kidney disease and the 3 primary protein 
     products of the genes and to the understanding of cell 
     structures and signaling pathways that cause cyst growth that 
     has produced multiple polycystic kidney disease clinical drug 
     trials;
       Whereas the national PKD Foundation and its 60 volunteer 
     chapters around the country are dedicated to expanding 
     essential research, fostering public awareness and 
     understanding of polycystic kidney disease, educating 
     polycystic kidney disease patients and their families about 
     the disease to improve their treatment and care, providing 
     appropriate moral support, and encouraging people to become 
     organ donors; and
       Whereas the PKD Foundation's Walk for PKD has grown from a 
     small, grassroots activity to an annual national awareness 
     event held during the third week of September, and such week 
     would be an appropriate time to recognize National Polycystic 
     Kidney Disease Week: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of a National Polycystic 
     Kidney Disease Awareness Week to raise public awareness and 
     understanding of polycystic kidney disease (known as 
     ``PKD'');
       (2) recognizes the need for additional research into a cure 
     for polycystic kidney disease; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States and 
     interested groups to support National Polycystic Kidney 
     Awareness Week through appropriate ceremonies and activities 
     to promote public awareness of polycystic kidney disease and 
     to foster understanding of the impact of the disease on 
     patients and their families.

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