HR 159 — A Resolution designating the month of May 2025 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   1215

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 159
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY CUTLER, MULLINS, HANBIDGE, FREEMAN, FEE, REICHARD,
        MALAGARI, VITALI, GIRAL, KHAN, PICKETT, SANCHEZ, VENKAT,
        McNEILL, STAATS, DIAMOND, SCHMITT, GAYDOS, GUENST, DONAHUE,
        KAUFFMAN, HADDOCK, HEFFLEY, NEILSON, MOUL, MERSKI,
        D. WILLIAMS, RAPP, DEASY AND MENTZER, APRIL 1, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, APRIL 1, 2025


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating the month of May 2025 as "Amyotrophic Lateral
 2      Sclerosis Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is better known
 4   as Lou Gehrig's disease; and
 5      WHEREAS, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease
 6   characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower motor
 7   neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horn of the spinal
 8   cord; and
 9      WHEREAS, The initial symptom of ALS is weakness of the
10   skeletal muscles, especially those of the extremities; and
11      WHEREAS, As ALS progresses, the ALS patient experiences
12   difficulty in swallowing, talking and breathing; and
13      WHEREAS, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the
14   ALS patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and
15      WHEREAS, ALS does not affect the ALS patient's mental
16   capacity, leaving the patient alert and aware of the patient's
 1   loss of motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued
 2   deterioration and death; and
 3      WHEREAS, ALS occurs in adulthood, most commonly between 40
 4   and 70 years of age, with an average age of 55 at the time of
 5   diagnosis; and
 6      WHEREAS, ALS is 20% more common among men than women; and
 7      WHEREAS, Approximately 5,000 new ALS patients are diagnosed
 8   annually; and
 9      WHEREAS, On average, patients diagnosed with ALS only survive
10   two to five years from the time of diagnosis; and
11      WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, prevention or cure; and
12      WHEREAS, "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month"
13   increases public awareness of ALS patients' circumstances,
14   acknowledges the terrible impact this disease has on ALS
15   patients and their families and recognizes the research being
16   done to eradicate this horrible disease; therefore be it
17      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
18   month of May 2025 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness
19   Month" in Pennsylvania.




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