PROCLAMATION 5406—NOV. 11, 1985
99 STAT. 2115
The medical research community is focusing special attention on Alzheimer's disease in an effort to discover its causes and develop effective treatments. Recently, a Department of Health and Human Services task force defined the current state of medical knowledge of Alzheimer's disease and recommended future research directions. Organizations leading this research include the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke; the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute of Mental Health; and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. For Alzheimer's patients and their families, this intensive research is the greatest source of hope. But until a way to prevent Alzheimer's disease is found, these families need our support and understanding. I commend the superb services provided by voluntary health organizations, notably the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association. To enhance public awareness of Alzheimer's disease, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 65, has designated the month of November 1985 as "National Alzheimer's Disease Month" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of November 1985 as National Alzheimer's Disease Month, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe that month with appropriate observances and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of Nov, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth. RONALD REAGAN Proclamation 5406 of November 11, 1985
National Reye's Syndrome Week, 1985 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation There is a potentially deadly disorder that affects our children called Reye's Syndrome. It is one of the top ten killers among all diseases affecting young people aged one to ten. Each year in the United States, a number of healthy children under age nineteen are afflicted with Reye's Syndrome, and many victims die or become crippled within several days. We did not recognize Reye's Syndrome as a specific illness until 1963, and we still do not know what causes it or how to prevent it. Diligent research has identified its symptoms: severe vomiting, delirium, lethargy, unusual drowsiness, and belligerence. During last winter's flu season, only 171 cases of Reye's Syndrome were reported in the United States, down from the 422 cases reported as recently as 1980. A variety of factors have contributed to this sharp decline, which is an encouraging chapter in the annals of American medicine. Experience has taught us that quick medical intervention usually can avert death or disability. But much remains to be learned. Federal scientists, supported by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and other units of the National Institutes of Health such as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Arthritis, Di-
Ante, p. 69.
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