Expressing Sense of Congress Regarding Need for Additional Research into Hydrcephalus

EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEED FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH INTO HYDROCEPHALUS

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 74 which has been introduced by my colleague from California, Congressman Mike Thompson, and co-sponsored by Democratic and Republican Members alike.

H. Con. Res. 74 encourages additional support for research into the prevention and treatment of the neurological condition hydrocephalus. It is a chronic medical condition that, like other conditions affecting a relatively small number of people, receives inadequate attention and resources, which delays research that could achieve great breakthroughs. Passage of H. Con. Res. 74 will demonstrate the support of the Congress for aggressive research to find improved methods for detecting and treating hydrocephalus not only among children, but within the increasingly large number to adults who are affected by late onset of the condition.

I am especially proud that the Hydrocephalus Association is headquartered in my congressional district in San Francisco, and that the couple whose pioneering efforts have encouraged and supported so many people with hydrocephalus and their families are San Franciscans--Emily and Russell Fudge, as is the Association's Executive Director, Dory Kranz.

Under their leadership, together with the board composed of leading physicians and researchers, parents and people with hydrocephalus, the Hydrocephalus Association has raised public awareness of this condition and the enormous impact it has on over one million Americans. Because of the medical advances and the advocacy efforts promoted by the Association, most of these children and adults are able to lead full and productive lives and make enormous contributions to our society.

These successes have inadvertently complicated the efforts to advance research, diagnosis and treatment. The typical surgical treatment--the insertion of a shunt to carry away excessive cerebral fluid from the brain--was developed over 50 years ago. Because shunting has alleviated many of the more grave aspects of pre-shunt hydrocephalus, many believe it represents a cure. But it does not. Shunt surgery and the frequent repairs, which are well known to those with hydrocephalus and their families, are not only serious operations, but cost a billion dollars a year, much of which might well be averted with development of advanced treatment strategies.

Promoting additional research through increased federal support is the goal of this resolution. Those advances will benefit not only those with hydrocephalus, but will help to reduce excessive costs in our health care system, and allow hundreds of thousands of people with hydrocephalus to live even fuller lives freed from the anxieties and costs associated with shunt failure and related complications.

Seven of the institutes of the National Institutes of Health--including the Office of Rare Diseases--sponsored a major national conference in September 2005 on ``Hydrocephalus: Myths, New Facts, Clear Directions' which has encouraged aggressive action in the areas of research and treatment. Now it is time for the Congress to join the campaign to expand our understanding of the causes and modernize the treatment of hydrocephalus. I call upon my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 74 to encourage our nation's leading medical institutions and researchers to expand their focus on achieving breakthrough research in the diagnosis and treatment of hydrocephalus.

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