Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 115 Part 1.djvu/845

 PUBLIC LAW 107-84—DEC. 18, 2001 115 STAT. 823 Public Law 107-84 107th Congress An Act To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research with respect to various forms of muscular dystrophy, including Ducheime» Becker, limb girdle, coi^enital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery- Dreifuss muscular dystrophies. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the "Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001", or the "MD -CARE Act". SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress makes the following findings: (1) Of the childhood muscular dystrophies, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the world's most common and catastrophic form of genetic childhood disease, and is characterized by a rapidly progressive muscle weakness that almost always results in death, usually by 20 years of age. (2) Duchenne muscular dystrophy is genetically inherited, and mothers are the carriers in approximately 70 percent of all cases. (3) If a female is a carrier of the dystrophin gene, there is a 50 percent chance per birth that her male offspring wili have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and a 50 percent chance per birth that her femede offspring will be carriers. (4) Duchenne is the most common lethal genetic disorder of childhood worldwide, affecting approximately 1 in every 3,500 boys worldwide. (5) Children with muscular dystrophy exhibit extreme symptoms of weakness, delay in walking, waddling gait, dif- ficulty in climbing stairs, and progressive mobility problems often in combination with muscle hypertrophy. (6) Other forms of muscular dystrophy affecting children and adults include Becker, limb girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophies. (7) Myotonic muscular dystrophy (also known as Steinert's disease and dystrophia myotonica) is the second most prominent form of muscular dystrophy and ihe type most commonly found in adults. Unlike any of the other muscular dystrophies, the muscle weakness is accompsinied by myotonia (delayed relaxation of muscles after contraction) and by a variety of abnormalities in addition to those of muscle. Dec. 18, 2001 [H.R. 717] Musculai: Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001. 42 USC 201 note. 42 USC 247b-18 note.

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