Bill Text: CA SCR163 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Hydrocephalus Awareness Month.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 236, Statutes of 2018. [SCR163 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SCR163-Enrolled.html

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Enrolled  August 31, 2018

Passed  IN  Senate  August 13, 2018

Passed  IN  Assembly  August 27, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Concurrent Resolution

No. 163

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Introduced by Senator Portantino

August 07, 2018

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Relative to Hydrocephalus Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 163, Portantino. Hydrocephalus Awareness Month.

This measure would designate September 2018 as Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in California.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: NO  

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Bill Text

WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the cavities of the brain; and

WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus affects a wide range of people from infants and children to young, middle-aged, and older adults; and

WHEREAS, There is no known cure for hydrocephalus; and

WHEREAS, One to two of every 1,000 babies are born with hydrocephalus, making it as common as Down syndrome and more common than spina bifida or brain tumors; and

WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus is the most common reason for brain surgery in children; and

WHEREAS, Two-thirds of our military service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries are likely to also have hydrocephalus; and

WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus is treated by performing brain surgery to insert a shunt to drain the CSF into another part of the body (usually the abdomen) where it can be absorbed. Originally invented over 50 years ago, shunts have the highest failure rate of any medically implanted device. An estimated 50 percent of shunts fail within the first two years; and

WHEREAS, One quarter of a million Americans may have normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which is most common in older adults and seniors; and

WHEREAS, Without appropriate diagnostic testing, NPH is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases; and

WHEREAS, Research suggests that treating NPH in the elderly population would reduce the United States’ health care expenditures by $25,000 per patient, or $184 million over five years; and

WHEREAS, The medical costs for hydrocephalus are over $1 billion per year, yet the National Institutes of Health invests less than $1 million per year in hydrocephalus treatment; and

WHEREAS, Over the last 50 years, there have been no significant improvement in hydrocephalus treatment and no progress toward prevention or cure; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of September 2018 as Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.