[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10594-10595]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              SUPPORTING NIH FUNDING FOR DYSTONIA RESEARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2007

  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of NIH 
funding for research to better understand the causes and treatments for 
dystonia.
  My longtime friend Howard Thiel visited last week to tell me more 
about the problem of dystonia; Howard experienced severe pain and 
disability from this condition for nine years.
  Although he is now benefiting from effective treatment, he helped me 
better understand the

[[Page 10595]]

problems of the many Americans who suffer from conditions of abnormal 
muscle tone. In compelling terms, he described the pain, disability and 
suffering they experience. From spasmodic dystonia of the neck, to 
spasmodic dysphonia of the vocal cords, and generalized whole body 
dystonia, these various conditions all involve distressing, often 
exquisitely painful difficulties with muscle tone.
  As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has noted, ``Dystonia is the third most 
common neurological movement disorder behind Parkinson's and Tremors.'' 
Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer with this little known 
disorder. As we consider the difficult budget priorities confronting us 
in 2007, I ask you to give serious consideration to increased NIH 
support for research on neurological conditions like dystonia.

                          ____________________