SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 720
         WHEREAS, The observance of ALS Awareness Month in May 2023
  provides an opportunity to promote better understanding of
  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; and
         WHEREAS, A neurodegenerative condition, ALS was first
  identified by a French scientist in 1869, and the disease
  garnered international attention 70 years later, when it ended
  the career of beloved baseball player Lou Gehrig; often known as
  Lou Gehrig's disease, it is characterized by degeneration of cell
  bodies of the upper and lower motor neurons in the gray matter of
  the anterior horn of the spinal cord; and
         WHEREAS, Approximately 5,600 people in the United States
  are diagnosed with ALS each year, and some 15 Americans are
  diagnosed each day; in Texas, the ALS Association assisted more
  than 1,500 individuals during 2022, estimated at 41 percent of
  the state's ALS population; in addition, it benefited over 4,500
  family caregivers and young relatives with its support groups and
  educational workshops; the association fights daily for people
  living with ALS, advocating for them, empowering them, and
  leading cutting-edge research to discover treatments and a cure;
  since 2020, it has loaned more than $6 million of medical
  equipment to Texans at no cost; it supports 13 multidisciplinary
  clinics across the state offering a variety of resources; and
         WHEREAS, During ALS Awareness Month 2023, the ALS
  Association is celebrating the commencement of construction on
  the $100 million Center for Brain Health at The University of
  Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; the center will
  provide innovative, expert care of patients with ALS and other
  neurologic conditions and help advance research as a clinical
  trials facility; UT Health San Antonio's Neuromuscular Disorders
  Program is already an ALS Association-Certified Treatment Center
  of Excellence, and it is home to one of only 38 Muscular Dystrophy
  Association/ALS Research Centers in the country; and
         WHEREAS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a serious and
  life-threatening disease, and the observance of ALS Awareness
  Month reaffirms our commitment to search for a cure and to
  enhance quality of life for patients; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
  Legislature, hereby recognize May 2023 as ALS Awareness Month.
 
  Menéndez
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        President of the Senate
     
        I hereby certify that the
    above Resolution was adopted by
    the Senate on May 28, 2023.
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        Secretary of the Senate
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
         Member, Texas Senate