Proclamation 6438—National Huntington's Disease Awareness Month, 1992

Huntington's disease is an insidious, hereditary neurological disorder that causes the gradual deterioration of one's ability to speak, move and think. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that some 25,000 Americans have huntington's disease, and that each of their children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the defective game that is associated with it.

One of the tragic facts about Huntington's disease is that it usually becomes manifest in the middle years, after an individual has established a career and a family. The estimated 125,000 Americans who are at risk of developing the disease may spend years anxiously awaiting the appearance of symptoms, such at tics, lapses in memory, and unsteadiness. If an individual develops Huntington's disease, the resulting dementia, slurred speech, and uncontrollable movements progessively worsen. For those fortunate not to develop the disorder, Huntington's disease can nevertheless take an emotional and financial toll as they care for stricken loved ones.

Today, patients and their families have just cause for hope; a new era of discovery is unfolding in research on Huntington's disease. Members of the biomedical research community are aggressively pursuing studies to identify the exact location of the game associated with Huntington's disease and to learn how it functions in the body. Once the gene is located and its mechanism of action is exposed, scientists will be able to analyze and possible to correct the defect, thereby conquering Huntington's disease once and for all. Until scientists achieve these goals, however, affected individuals and families will continue to need to our understanding and our support.

In order to enhance public awareness of Huntington's disease and to express concern for those affected by it, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 251, has designated May 1992 as "National Huntington's Disease Awareness Month" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1922 as National Huntington's Disease Awareness Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sisteenth.

GEORGE BUSH