The month of May has been named national Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month (ADAM) by Congress in order to call increased attention to a family of diseases that are still not well-known or well-understood by the medical and research communities and the general public.
The National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups, facilitated by the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (AARDA), has spearheaded
this advocacy effort. The Congressional resolution is sponsored by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY).
“By declaring May as Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, Congress is sending a clear message that autoimmune disease is a national health concern that must be paid attention,” explained Senator Biden.
“While many aspects of autoimmune disease are not well-known, we do know that the family of these diseases is under-recognized, and that they post a major healthcare problem in the United States, particularly to women,” added Congressman Israel.
There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, Crohn’s disease, scleroderma, polymyositis, lupus, Sj`gren’s disease and Graves’ disease. Autoimmunity is the underlying cause of these diseases. It is the process whereby the immune system mistakenly recognizes the body’s own proteins as foreign invaders and begins producing antibodies that attack healthy cells and tissues, causing a variety of diseases.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are 24.5 million Americans who suffer from autoimmune diseases and that the prevalence of these diseases is on the rise. Collectively, autoimmune disease is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in children and women under 65 and represents some $100 billion in annual direct health care costs, yet less than six percent of Americans surveyed in a recent Roper poll could identify an autoimmune disease.
AARDA is asking those interested in being a part of the advocacy effort for Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month to contact their congressional representatives to request that they sign onto the resolution as co-sponsors. Contact information for all U.S. senators and congressmen can be found on AARDA’s website at http://www.aarda.org and clicking on “Congress Connect.”
To view the resolutions, , please visit www.thomas.gov and search for H. Res # 258 and S. Res. # 116. For more information, contact AARDA at www.aarda.org
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I have had some type of autoimmune disease for over 2 years and they still don't know which one it is..
I was a very active woman, shopping, dancing, yoga,treadmill and etc. Now I can't do any of those things, and all I can do is take prednisone and methotrexate, and the are making me black and blue all over, plus given me cateracts, swelled face, loosing hair and still can't climb stairs get up for a chair or walk over a half a block..
Why can't they find something besides prednisone for treating this terrible disease I have got..
Post a Comment