S*0678 Resolution, By Lourie
 A SENATE RESOLUTION TO DECLARE MARCH 14-22, 2011, NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
 WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND TO COMMEND THE EFFORTS OF THE NATIONAL MULTIPLE
 SCLEROSIS SOCIETY TO ADVOCATE FOR AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF AND TREATMENTS
 FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

   03/09/11  Senate Introduced and adopted (Senate Journal-page 7)

TO DECLARE MARCH 14-22, 2011, NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND TO COMMEND THE EFFORTS OF THE NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY TO ADVOCATE FOR AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF AND TREATMENTS FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

Whereas, the South Carolina Senate is proud to promote awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS) in South Carolina during National Multiple Sclerosis Week from March 14-22, 2011; and

Whereas, although MS occurs in most ethnic groups, it is most common in Caucasians of northern European descent, affects more than twice as many women as men, and is usually diagnosed in people between the ages of twenty and fifty; and

Whereas, approximately four hundred thousand Americans have multiple sclerosis, and every week about two hundred people receive a diagnosis of MS; and

Whereas, the Mid Atlantic Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), which includes all of South Carolina and a portion of North Carolina, records almost eight thousand sufferers of the disease in that region; and

Whereas, a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, blindness, and more; and

Whereas, symptoms occur when a person has an immune-system attack that affects myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system, which destroys and replaces it with scars of hardened "sclerotic" tissue, permanently severing underlying nerve fibers in multiple places; and

Whereas, since no single laboratory test is yet available to prove or rule out MS, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) greatly aids reaching a definite diagnosis of this elusive disease; and

Whereas, although no cures for MS exist, some FDA-approved medications have been proven to modify or slow down the underlying course of MS, and many therapeutic and technological advances help people to manage the symptoms; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate are grateful for the work of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and are pleased to recognize March 14-22, 2011, as National Multiple Sclerosis Week in South Carolina. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, declare March 14-22, 2011, National Multiple Sclerosis Week in South Carolina, and commend the efforts of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to advocate for awareness of the effects of and treatments for multiple sclerosis.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Alexander Noe.