BILL NUMBER: SCR 11	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 22, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 16, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Fuller

                        JANUARY 16, 2015

   Relative to Chiari Malformation Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 11, Fuller. Chiari Malformation Awareness Month.
   This measure would declare the month of September 2015 as Chiari
Malformation Awareness Month.



   WHEREAS, Chiari Malformation is a serious neurological disorder
affecting more than 300,000 people in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, Chiari Malformation was first identified by Austrian
pathologist Professor Hans Chiari in the 1890s and categorized into
four types in order of severity; and
   WHEREAS, Chiari Malformation is a congenital malformation in which
the bottom of the brain, known as the cerebellum, is crowded in the
skull cavity and forces the lower tips of the cerebellar hemispheres,
or tonsils, into the hole in the bottom of the skull, or foramen
magnum; and
   WHEREAS, Chiari Malformations are defects in the cerebellum, the
part of the brain that controls balance, and this creates pressure on
the cerebellum and brain stem and may block the normal flow of
cerebral spinal fluid to and from the brain; and
   WHEREAS, Symptoms usually appear during adolescence or early
adulthood and can include severe head and neck pain, vertigo, muscle
weakness, balance problems, blurred or double vision, difficulty
swallowing, and sleep apnea; and
   WHEREAS, Individuals who have Chiari Malformation may often have
related conditions, such as hydrocephalus, spina bifida,
syringomyelia, tethered spinal cord syndrome, and spinal curvature;
and
   WHEREAS, The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke of the National Institute of Health is conducting research to
find alternative surgical options and identify the cause of Chiari
Malformations to create improved treatment and prevention plans; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the California Legislature declares
September 2015 as Chiari Malformation Awareness Month; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.