Newswise — The U.S. Senate has designated May 2007 as National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month (ADAM), calling on Americans to learn more about these diseases that are still not well-known or well-understood by the medical and research communities and the general public at large.
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), there are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, scleroderma, polymyositis, vasculitis, lupus, Sjögren's disease and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Autoimmunity is the underlying cause of these diseases. It is the process whereby the immune system mistakenly recognizes the body's own proteins as foreign invaders and begins producing antibodies that attack healthy cells and tissues, causing a variety of diseases.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are 23.5 million Americans who suffer from autoimmune diseases and the prevalence of these diseases is rising. Collectively, autoimmune disease is one of the top 10 leading causes of death of children and women under 65 and represents some $100 billion in annual direct health care costs, yet less than six percent of Americans surveyed in a recent Roper poll could identify an autoimmune disease.
"Looking strictly at the numbers, autoimmune disease is a major health issue in this country. Yet, we have the Roper survey and other key measures that clearly indicate that the general public is woefully unaware and uninformed about autoimmune diseases to the detriment of the health and quality of life of the tens of millions of Americans and their families who cope with these illnesses everyday," said Virginia Ladd, president and executive director, AARDA, a driving force behind the month's special designation.
As part of its month long ADAM celebration, American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association will undertake a series of events and activities, including:- airing two ADAM-themed, 30-second radio PSAs on radio stations around the country. - unveiling a multi-media PSA campaign featuring longtime AARDA spokesperson and Emmy-nominated actress Kellie Martin.- hosting a patient rally and autoimmune diseases health fair on Capitol Hill in conjunction with the National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 10:30 a.m..- sponsoring the ninth annual Autoimmunity Day at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as several other universities around the country, on Friday, June 1.
About AARDA American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) is the nation's only non-profit organization dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity as a category of disease and a major women's health issue, and promoting a collaborative research effort in order to find better treatments and a cure for all autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.aarda.org or call 586-776-3900 or 888-856-9433.
To view the congressional resolutions designating ADAM, visit http://www.thomas.gov and search for S. Res # 116 and H. Res # 258.
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