BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   ACR 25|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  ACR 25
          Author:   Miller (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
          WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 3/26/09 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution proclaims the third full week in  
          September in each year as Mitochondrial Disease Awareness  
          Week, and urges California residents to observe the week  
          with appropriate activities and programs.

           ANALYSIS  :    This resolution finds:

          1. Mitochondria are the power plants in every cell of a  
             person's body and create more than 90 percent of the  
             energy needed by the body to sustain life and support  
             growth.

          2. Mitochondria may not function correctly due to genetic  
             defects or damage caused by drugs or destructive  
             molecules known as free radicals.

                                                           CONTINUED





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          3. When mitochondria fail, cell injury and cell death  
             follow, and, if the process is repeated throughout the  
             body, whole systems begin to fail.

          4. Mitochondrial diseases can cause isolated symptoms, such  
             as seizures, low blood counts, blindness, deafness,  
             dementia, heart failure, and progressive muscle  
             weakness, but more often they cause failure of several  
             organ systems in sequence.

          5. Mitochondrial diseases can affect any person at any age.

          6. It is estimated that every 30 minutes a child is born  
             that will develop a mitochondrial disease before he or  
             she reaches 10 years of age, totaling 4,000 children  
             each year.

          7. At least one in 200 individuals in the general public  
             have a mitochondrial disease that may lead to another  
             disease.

          8. It is believed that mitochondrial diseases are  
             underdiagnosed because mitochondrial disorders mimic  
             other diseases and the diagnosis process itself is  
             difficult and time consuming, having only been first  
             diagnosed in adults in the 1960s and first diagnosed in  
             children in the 1980s.

          9. Research has consistently shown that mitochondrial  
             dysfunction is at the core of many very common illnesses  
             and chronic conditions of adulthood, including, but not  
             limited to, Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's disease,  
             diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, osteoporosis, and  
             cancer.

          10.   Currently no cures or effective therapies exist, but  
             early diagnosis can help a patient and his or her family  
             use proper medication and nutritional supplements to  
             improve the quality of life, and even to prolong life.

          11.   It is imperative that the federal government make  
             research for mitochondrial diseases a priority and fully  
             fund research initiatives to find a cure.








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          3

          12.   It is appropriate that all California residents be  
             better informed about mitochondrial diseases and their  
             impact.

          This resolution proclaims the third full week in September  
          in each year as Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week, and  
          urges California residents to observe the week with  
          appropriate activities and programs.

          FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  3/31/09)

          American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
          Employees
          United Mitochondrial Foundation


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Buchanan,  
            Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,  
            Cook, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall,  
            Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,  
            Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,  
            Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,  
            Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Price, Ruskin, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,  
            Villines, Yamada, Bass
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Tom Berryhill, Brownley, Davis,  
            Fletcher, Lieu, Logue, Salas, Silva, Smyth


          CTW:nl  4/1/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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