FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT October 1, 2004 Benjamin J. Kirby 202-842-4101 x103 [log in to unmask] PARKINSON’S COMMUNITY APPLAUDS ENACTMENT OF CALIFORNIA PARKINSON’S DISEASE REGISTRY GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS ASSEMBLY BILL 2248 INTO LAW (Washington, DC) – The Parkinson’s community today hailed the signing of California Assembly Bill 2248 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, sponsored by Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D – District 43), as a victory for the entire Parkinson’s community, and for continued advocacy efforts for Parkinson’s disease funding and research. “The Parkinson’s community – and the many millions of Americans, not just those in California – who will benefit from this important law, sincerely thank Governor Schwarzenegger for his extraordinary leadership,” said Amy Comstock, PAN Executive Director. The California Parkinson’s Disease Registry is a first-of-its-kind system that will assess the number of people in a specified area with Parkinson’s disease. A.B. 2248 will require the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to create a Parkinson’s disease-specific registry and “conduct a program of epidemiological assessments on the incidence of the disease.” The law also encourages DHS to convene a unique task force comprised of scientists and Parkinson’s disease researchers as well as Parkinson’s advocates to provide support and advice for the implementation and funding of the California Parkinson’s Disease Registry. “We don’t have enough data on how many people have Parkinson’s disease in America today,” said Comstock. “We don’t have enough data on the general age, ethnicity, or gender of people with Parkinson’s disease, or even if environmental factors play a part in causing Parkinson’s disease. The California Registry will provide solid data for researchers who are seeking answers to those important questions.” “For years Parkinson’s research has been slowed by a lack of fundamental data about the occurrence of this disease throughout the general population. This new law is a necessary first step to collect that data and will almost certainly accelerate research and understanding of this devastating disease,” said J. William Langston, founder of the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, California, and Chief Scientific Advisor to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Dr. Caroline Tanner, a world-renowned epidemiologist with the Parkinson’s Institute, said “California has been closely tracking the use of toxic chemicals for the past 20 years. The use of this data in conjunction with data from the Registry presents a unique opportunity to determine the relationship between exposure to certain toxins and the development of Parkinson’s.” “We are deeply grateful to the many people in the Parkinson’s community who contacted the Governor’s office in support of this legislation,” said Mark Siegel, PAN Coordinator for Southern California and President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association. “Of the over 800 bills sitting on the governor’s desk for approval or veto, the Registry Bill was one of the two most actively supported by contact with the Governor’s office by citizens both in and outside of California.” Greg and Ann Wasson, longtime PAN advocates and Co-State Coordinators for PAN in Northern California, praised the grassroots in making a crucial difference in the fate of this bill. “The letters, faxes, emails and calls by the grassroots made this bill stand out among the hundreds of others on the Governor’s desk, and made it impossible to ignore.” Said PAN President Joan Samuelson: “This is a first in the Parkinson’s community, not just in California, but across America. We hope that other states – and even the United States Congress – will follow the leadership of the California Legislature to create similar registries for Parkinson’s disease. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Assemblyman Frommer and State Senator Deborah Ortiz and the efforts of the Parkinson’s community in California, this bill was passed and signed in record time.” Founded in 1991, PAN is the unified education and advocacy voice of the Parkinson’s community—over one million Americans and their families. Through education and interaction with the Parkinson’s community, scientists, lawmakers, opinion leaders, and the public, PAN fights for a cure by increasing awareness about Parkinson’s disease and seeks increased federal support for Parkinson’s research. For more information on the Parkinson’s Action Network, please visit www.parkinsonsaction.org or call 1-800-850-4726. # # # # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn