[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TO THE 
                           STATE OF MARYLAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Johns Hopkins 
University located in the Seventh Congressional District in the great 
State of Maryland for its continued commitment to excellence and its 
monumental contributions to the advancement of our society and to the 
health and wellbeing of people throughout the world.
  Johns Hopkins is a stalwart not only in my hometown of Baltimore City 
but the entire State of Maryland and this Nation. The university 
currently supports more than 85,000 Maryland jobs. More than 3 percent 
of the people receiving paychecks in Maryland either work for Johns 
Hopkins or have a job because of the money.
  Additionally, the institution adds at least $7 billion a year of 
income to the Maryland economy. However, the University's 
groundbreaking research and contributions that can be felt throughout 
the entire world. The advancements that have been made in research and 
technology since the University's establishment in 1876 have been 
critical in keeping our Nation on the cutting edge.
  The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is one of the best in the world, 
receiving more research grants from the National Institutes of Health 
than any other medical school. The Bloomberg School of Public Health, 
renowned for contributions worldwide to preventative medicine and the 
health of large populations, ranks first among public health schools in 
Federal research support.
  Madam Speaker, the medical breakthroughs made possible through Johns 
Hopkins research are saving lives every single day, and the University 
continues to make great strides in helping men, women, and children who 
suffer from illness. Just the other day in the Baltimore Sun, for 
instance, there was an article reporting new, unprecedented success by 
Johns Hopkins researchers in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
  MS is a chronic and often disabling, degenerative condition in which 
the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system. Symptoms 
of this disease range from numbness in the limbs to paralysis or 
blindness, and the programs and severity of this disease is 
unpredictable.
  According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, approximately 
40,000 Americans are currently suffering from MS and an additional 200 
people are being diagnosed each week. Although there are apparently a 
variety of treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration that 
can lessen the frequency and severity of MS attacks, there is not yet a 
cure for this debilitating disease.
  However, this new research from Johns Hopkins offers a giant leap 
forward in the search for a cure. In a small college study, nine people 
were chosen to receive a single infusion of cyclophosphamide over 4 
days and were followed for 4 years. Madam Speaker, these nine patients 
have experienced the most severe symptoms of MS, and most of them had 
failed to respond to other treatments.
  At the completion of the 2-year period, researchers found that the 
treatment not only slowed the progression of MS, but it also restored 
neurological function that had previously been lost to the disease. 
Seven of the nine patients showed a decrease in the number of brain 
lesions in MRIs, and some even began walking, controlling bladder 
function, and returning to work for the first time in many years.
  One of the patients in the treatment program, 30-year-old Richard 
Bauer, summed up succinctly what this research has the potential to 
offer those who are suffering from MS. And he said, ``I was falling 
apart . . . trapped in my own body,'' and he continued, ``I'm a regular 
person again. I've gotten my life back.''
  Madam Speaker, there are countless other patients who have benefited 
tremendously from Johns Hopkins research and who credit this great 
university for giving them back their lives. I am proud to applaud the 
work of this great institution and to recognize its contributions to 
the State of Maryland, to our Nation, and indeed the world.

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