BILL NUMBER: ACR 51INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Perea APRIL 12, 2011 Relative to Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 51, as introduced, Perea. Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month. This measure would proclaim the month of May 2011 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month in California. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a neurological disorder affecting one in every 3,000 births. NF is more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease combined. NF affects people of all races and ethnic origins, and both sexes equally; and WHEREAS, The Children's Tumor Foundation leads efforts to promote and financially sponsor world-class medical research aimed at finding effective treatments and ultimately a cure for NF. The foundation also works to improve access to quality patient health care and provides patient and family support; and WHEREAS, Much remains to be done in raising public awareness of NF to help promote early diagnosis, proper management and treatment, prevention of complications, and support for research; and WHEREAS, Research has directly linked NF to cancer, brain tumors, memory loss, learning disabilities, heart disease, blindness, deafness, and orthopedic problems; and WHEREAS, Increased public knowledge of NF may bring hope to NF patients and families, and support essential research; and WHEREAS, Since the discovery of the genes causing NF in the 1990s, researchers have made progress in understanding NF and creating drugs to combat it; and WHEREAS, The Children's Tumor Foundation is observing May 2011 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month to educate the public about this common genetic disorder; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of May 2011 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month in California; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.