DOD Letter: Senate
Date
The Honorable Ted Stevens
Chairman of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee
Washington, D.C. 20510
OR
The Honorable Daniel Inouye
Ranking Member of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear (Chairman Stevens OR Ranking Member Inouye):
I am writing to ask you to take the next step forward towards fighting a fatal disease called ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). What makes ALS unique compared to most other diseases is that there is no known cause, cure or prevention. There is hope, however, and we can capitalize on it with your assistance. I am writing to ask you to support funding for ALS in the Fiscal Year 2004 Department of Defense Appropriations bill (DOD) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). ALS was included as one of just twenty-eight diseases eligible for this funding in the 2003 fiscal year budget and continued funding for ALS in the 2004 fiscal year budget will allow researchers to continue moving forward towards finding a cure.
ALS, more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disorder that occurs when motor nerve cells cease to function and die. While in most cases a person's mind remains sharp and alert, voluntary muscle control becomes completely lost, often resulting in paralysis.
Currently, interest has been renewed with reports of the two-fold increase of ALS in Gulf War Veterans (the study is still to appear in a peer-reviewed journal.) Many scientists believe ALS is likely to be caused by a combination of environmental factors and genetics, making one person more susceptible than another when exposed to the same toxins.
The continued funding through the PRMRP will help researchers better understand how environmental factors may be involved in ALS. These studies are expensive and need to be done with appropriate control groups to be sure that data is valid. Recruiting patients into the study and the involvement of many multidisciplinary teams is crucial to moving efforts forward. If indeed there is an increased incidence in Gulf War Veterans, the next step would be to try and identify what the factor or factors are and understand how this leads to motor neuron degeneration. These efforts are invaluable for understanding disease mechanism and ultimately the development of therapies.
We simply cannot expect our soldiers to protect and defend our country if we cannot protect and defend them from getting this deadly disease while serving in our armed forces.
Sincerely,
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