03/14/2011 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

                  SCR  1-LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:39:09 PM                                                                                                                    
CAIR DAVIS  announced the next order  of business would  be SCR 1.                                                              
[CSSCR 1(STA) was before the committee.]                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CELESTE HODGE,  staff to  Senator Bettye  Davis, sponsor  of SCR1,                                                              
introduced and explained  the resolution. SCR 1  designates May as                                                              
Lupus Awareness  Month, and encourages  Alaskans to  observe Lupus                                                              
Awareness  Month with  appropriate  activities  that provide  both                                                              
education and support for those diagnosed with the disease.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Lupus is  a chronic auto-immune  disease that causes  inflammation                                                              
and tissue  damage.  It can affect  any body  part, including  the                                                              
skin,  lungs,   heart,  kidneys,   and  brain.  Lupus   can  cause                                                              
seizures,   strokes,  heart  attacks,   miscarriages,   and  organ                                                              
failure. It  strikes mostly women  of childbearing age,  and women                                                              
of color develop  lupus at a rate  two to three times  the rate of                                                              
Caucasians. It is  difficult to diagnose because  its symptoms are                                                              
similar to those of other illnesses.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Each  year May  is designated  as  Lupus Awareness  Month to  show                                                              
support for the  estimated 1.5 million Americans  with lupus. More                                                              
than 3,000  cases have  been diagnosed  in Alaska. By  designating                                                              
May as  Lupus Awareness  Month, Alaska will  join other  states in                                                              
helping  to  increase awareness  of  lupus  and show  support  for                                                              
those diagnosed with the disease.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER  said he had  heard the bill  in State  Affairs, and                                                              
asked if the disease typically affects younger people.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. HODGE confirmed that it does.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:42:30 PM                                                                                                                    
ANNA  TILLMAN,   Executive  Director,   Lupus  Foundation   Alaska                                                              
Chapter, said  most people  are diagnosed between  the ages  of 20                                                              
to 40.  But it  can happen  at any  age. Often  people have  lupus                                                              
when they  are younger and it  never gets diagnosed.  Diagnosis is                                                              
based  on  the  elimination  of other  diseases.  Lupus  has  been                                                              
called the  least known major disease;  90 percent of  victims are                                                              
women and 15 percent are children.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Lupus is  a chronic auto immune  disease that can damage  any part                                                              
of  the  body.  It creates  antibodies  that  attack  and  destroy                                                              
healthy tissue,  and is  also a disease  of flares and  remission.                                                              
Symptoms  can range  from  mild to  life  threatening. With  early                                                              
diagnosis  and good  care, a person  can live  a normal  lifespan.                                                              
Many patients  do lose the ability  to work, and treatments  are a                                                              
heavy burden  financially. A new  drug specifically for  lupus was                                                              
approved  by the  FDA  last Friday;  this is  the  first new  drug                                                              
specifically for lupus that has been approved in 50 years.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:47:18 PM                                                                                                                    
KIRSTY  BAUMGARTNER, Lupus  Foundation  Alaska  Chapter, said  she                                                              
was also  calling on  behalf of  a family  member with  lupus, and                                                              
stressed the importance of awareness.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHARLOTTE BAUMGARTNER,  Lupus Foundation Alaska Chapter,  said she                                                              
was also the sister  of a lupus patient. Many  patients have minor                                                              
symptoms  while others  are totally  debilitated.  Her sister  has                                                              
been  living  with lupus  for  20  plus  years.  She had  to  stop                                                              
working  because  of damage  to  her  lungs, kidneys,  and  brain.                                                              
Current treatments  can cause side  effects almost  as devastating                                                              
as the disease itself.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
ALICIA SAHIMARI,  Senior Director  of Government Relations,  Lupus                                                              
Foundation  of America, said  the foundation  supports SCR1.  They                                                              
are dedicated to finding the cause and cure for lupus.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:53:58 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony on SCR 1.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR EGAN  moved to  report CSSCR 1  (STA) from committee  with                                                              
individual  recommendations and  accompanying fiscal notes.  There                                                              
being no objection, it was so ordered.