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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The month of November is designated as National
3Diabetes Awareness Month; and
 
4    WHEREAS, As many as 3 million Americans suffer from type 1
5diabetes, a chronic, genetically-determined, debilitating
6disease affecting every organ system; and
 
7    WHEREAS, More than 15,000 children each year are diagnosed
8with type 1 diabetes, a disease caused by an autoimmune attack
9that destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, 827,000 Illinoisans, 8.4% of the State's
12population, have been diagnosed with diabetes; diabetes costs
13the Illinois economy $7.3 billion annually; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Diabetes is one of the most costly chronic
15diseases, costing the United States economy more than $174
16billion and costing individuals with diabetes an average of
17$13,000 in annual health care costs, compared to $2,600 for
18individuals without diabetes; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Insulin treats, but does not cure, this
20potentially deadly disease and does not prevent the

 

 

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1complications of diabetes, which include blindness, heart
2attack, kidney failure, stroke, nerve damage, and amputations;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health has established
56 goal areas to guide type 1 diabetes research, focused on the
6reduction, prevention, and cure of type 1 diabetes and its
7complications; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health's research
9goals are to identify the genetic and environmental causes of
10type 1 diabetes, prevent or reverse type 1 diabetes, develop
11cell replacement therapy, prevent or reduce the occurrence of
12hypoglycemia in persons with type 1 diabetes, prevent or reduce
13the complications of type 1 diabetes, and attract new talent
14and apply new technologies to research on type 1 diabetes; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Federal funding has enabled research focused on
16determining the underlying genetic and environmental causes of
17diabetes and testing promising new treatments to halt and
18reverse the autoimmune attack that causes type 1 diabetes; and
 
19    WHEREAS, A cure for type 1 diabetes will require restoring
20beta cell function, either by replacement with transplantation
21or by beta cell regeneration; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The development of a 'closed-loop' artificial
2pancreas would greatly alleviate the daily burden of disease
3management for type 1 diabetes patients by continuously
4monitoring blood sugar levels, infusing insulin as necessary
5when blood glucose levels become too high, and warning patients
6when blood glucose levels become dangerously low; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Continued progress toward a cure for type 1
8diabetes depends on training the next generation of diabetes
9researchers; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Congress has provided $150 million annually
11through fiscal year 2011 for the Special Statutory Funding
12Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1
14Diabetes Research has provided nearly $16 million to Illinois
15institutions for type 1 diabetes research; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Leading type 1 diabetes researchers have
17recommended a total funding level of $4.1 billion for fiscal
18years 2009 through 2013 in order to meet the National
19Institutes of Health's type 1 research goals; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1urge Congress to renew the funding for the Special Statutory
2Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research in 2010 for
3multiple years, so that a cure for type 1 diabetes and its
4complications can be found; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent
6to each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation.