Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 97.djvu/1676

 97 STAT. 1644 PROCLAMATION 5124—NOV. 3, 1983 NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of November 2 through November 9, 1983 as National Drug Abuse Education Week. I call on all Americans to join the battle against drug abuse to protect our children so that we ensure a healthy and productive generation of Americans as our contribution to the future. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of No- vember, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth. RONALD REAGAN Editorial Note: For the President's remarks of Nov. 1, 1983, on signing Proclamation 5123, see the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents [vol. 19, p. 1509]. Proclamation 5124 of November 3, 1983 National Diabetes Month, 1983 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that now threatens the lives of ap- proximately 11 million Americans. Although careful treatment can control many of the short-term metabolic effects of diabetes, the disease is also as- sociated with serious long-term complications that affect the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels of the heart, brain, and extremities. In addition to its devastating toll in terms of human suffering, the cost of medical care for diabetic patients and associated losses due to disability and premature mortality now exceed $10 billion annually in the United States alone. Fortunately, the outlook for clinical advances related to the diagnosis, treat- ment, cure, and, ultimately, the prevention of diabetes and its complications has never been as promising as it is today. Recent research advances have included the synthetic production of purified human insulin to ensure ade- quate supplies of this essential hormone, the development of improved methods for insulin administration, new technologies for monitoring critical blood sugar levels, new therapies for the treatment of diabetes-related kidney, eye, and cardiovascular diseases, and improved clinical capabilities for reducing the increased perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with diabetic pregnancies. In addition, remarkable advances have also been made in developing pro- cedures that permit the successful transplantation of insulin-producing cells into diabetic animals without the need for chronic suppression of the immune system. As these and related studies are extended to humans, they may lead directly to the development of a cure for some of the most serious types of diabetes and to a means to prevent, arrest, or reverse the long- term complications of this disease. Recent advances in basic biomedical research are providing new insights into the multiple causes of diabetes. We anticipate that these studies will help to identify individuals at risk for developing diabetes so that we may ultimately develop approaches that will prevent the disease and its compli- cations altogether. Basic and clinical research advances have significantly reduced diabetes-related morbidity and mortality and have measurably im-

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