[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 132 (Friday, September 7, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11278-S11279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NATIONAL POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE AWARENESS WEEK

  The resolution (S. Res. 282) 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, was considered and agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 282

       Whereas polycystic kidney disease (known as ``PKD'') is 1 
     of the most prevalent life-threatening genetic diseases 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 for 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 
     treatment or cure, is the leading genetic cause of kidney 
     failure in the United States and the 4th leading cause 
     overall;
       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 cause 
     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 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 (NIH) 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 there are thousands of volunteers nationwide who 
     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

[[Page S11279]]

       Whereas these volunteers engage in an annual national 
     awareness event held during the 3rd week of September, and 
     such a week would be an appropriate time to recognize 
     National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Week: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of September 9-16, 2007, as 
     ``National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Week'';
       (2) supports the goals and ideals of a national week to 
     raise public awareness and understanding of polycystic kidney 
     disease (known as ``PKD'');
       (3) recognizes the need for additional research into a cure 
     for polycystic kidney disease; and
       (4) encourages the people of the United States and 
     interested groups to support National Polycystic Kidney 
     Disease 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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