Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 163

Introduced by Senator Fuller

(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chávez)

August 3, 2016

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 163—Relative to Chiari Malformation Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 163, as introduced, Fuller. Chiari Malformation Awareness Month.

This measure would declare the month of September 2016 as Chiari Malformation Awareness Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

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 1890’s 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 2016 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.