[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                DYSTONIA

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to call attention to 
a very serious, painful neurological disorder, dystonia, that affects 
many muscle groups simultaneously. We recently commemorated Dystonia 
Awareness Week and I would like to call further attention to this 
serious disorder.
  Dystonia is a painful disorder characterized by powerful involuntary 
muscle spasms. The spasms cause twisting, repetitive muscle movements, 
sustained postural deformities, and debilitating physical ailments. 
Although most forms of dystonia cause no mental damage, people living 
with dystonia are often prisoners in their own bodies. Currently, no 
cure is known and available medical therapies can only superficially 
address the symptoms.
  Approximately 50 percent of people with dystonia have a genetically 
inherited form whereas birth injury, physical trauma, exposure to 
certain medications, surgery, or stroke is the cause for the other 50 
percent. Dystonia is not selective, occurring in all racial, ethnic, 
and age groups. It is significantly more common than Huntington's 
disease, muscular dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig's disease. Given the 
prevalence and dystonia's impact on so many Americans as well as the 
limited treatment options available, I am pleased to support the goals 
of Dystonia Awareness Week. The Dystonia Advocacy Coalition through the 
commemoration of Dystonia Awareness Week and several other outreach 
activities seeks to raise awareness of dystonia's impact on the quality 
of life of 300,000 people in North America.
  I call on my colleagues to support increased funding for the National 
Institutes of Health to support needed advances in dystonia research. 
Research is needed to develop reliable tests to diagnose dystonia as 
well as access to new treatment options to improve the lives of people 
living with this terrible chronic disease. Until we can find a cure for 
dystonia, I respectfully ask my colleagues to make a prolonged 
commitment to the dystonia community that goes well beyond Dystonia 
Awareness Week.

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