[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CHARCOT-MARIE-TOOTH AWARENESS WEEK, SEPTEMBER 19-25

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                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring your 
attention to the first Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Awareness Week, 
September 19-25, 2010. This week-long event is coordinated by the 
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association (CMTA), and its members have been 
working towards educating Americans about the disease.
  Discovered in the late 1800s by physicians Jean-Martin Charcot, 
Pierre Marie and Howard Henry Tooth, CMT is a slowly progressive 
disease which attacks the nerves that control sensory information and 
muscle function of the feet, legs and arms. Although CMT is not life-
threatening, it can cause severe disabilities, and patients may lose 
feeling in their legs and arms.
  CMT is one of the most commonly inherited neurological disorders of 
our time. It affects nearly 2.6 million people worldwide, without 
regards to ethnicity or gender. One in every 2,500 Americans has CMT, 
and in the Tampa, St. Petersburg area alone, more than 300 people have 
been diagnosed.
  To date, there is no cure for CMT, but groups like CMTA are working 
diligently with scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
to find a solution, and they are hopeful that a cure will be found in 
the coming future. The CMTA was founded in 1983 to generate the 
resources to find a cure, to create awareness and to improve the 
quality of life for those living with CMT. CMTA believes that before 
there can be a world without CMT the world has to be aware of CMT.
  Seventeen states and the District of Columbia held activities this 
week to raise awareness of CMT. In my hometown of Tampa Bay, CMTA 
members distributed informational pamphlets to students at Eckerd 
College and to families at local post offices and libraries.
  Madam Speaker, raising awareness about CMT through CMT Awareness Week 
will help to educate communities about this disease and help to find a 
cure for this disorder.

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