All Rights Reserved
US Fed News
May 13, 2005 Friday 4:04 AM EST
LENGTH: 461 words
BYLINE: US States News
DATELINE: WASHINGTON

Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y. (17th CD), issued the following press release:

This week, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) met with New York Yankee great Tommy John to discuss expanding the federal government's role in combating and helping Americans cope with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Tommy John was visiting Congress to testify before a subcommittee about the importance of ALS research. He told Rep. Engel that the death of his friend and fellow Yankee pitcher, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, of ALS had affected him greatly and spurred him to become an ALS activist.

"Congress needs to step up to the plate and increase funding for Lou Gehrig's disease," said Rep. Engel, a long time supporter of increased funding for ALS research. "ALS affects as many as 30,000 Americans at any given time. Any one can catch this disease and it takes a terrible toll on the sufferer and their families. I am committed to increasing funding for ALS research because Congress has a role to play in defeating this terrible illness."

Early symptoms of ALS are muscle weakness or stiffness. Progression of weakness, wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk as well as those that control vital functions such as speech, swallowing and, later, breathing generally follows. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected.

Approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. The incidence of ALS (two per 100,000 people) is five times higher than Huntington's disease and about equal to multiple sclerosis.

Although the life expectancy of an ALS patient averages about two to five years from the time of diagnosis, this disease is variable and many people live for five years and more. More than half of all patients live more than three years after diagnosis.

Rep. Engel also was briefed by Dorine Gordon, President of the Greater New York Chapter of the ALS Association, ALS activists and sufferers, as well as Tommy John, about a new study which found that military veterans are more likely to contract ALS than the rest of the population, regardless of when they served in uniform. The report states that men and women with any history of military service in the last century are at a nearly 60% greater risk of ALS than men and women who did not serve in the military.

Engel concluded, "I was honored to meet Tommy John, his wife and other ALS advocates from New York. They should be commended for their work to fight this terrible disease, and I will do whatever is needed to make sure ALS research is adequately funded."