Fostering more orphan-disease research.Fostering more orphan-disease research Dustin Hoffman's award-winning performance in "Rain Man" helped publicize an uncommon developmental disorder developmental disorder Psychiatry An impairment in normal development of language, motor, cognitive and/or motor skills, generally recognized before age 18 which is expected to continue indefinitely and constitutes a substantial impairment Etiology Mental called autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. . But 20 million people in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. suffer from about 5,000 diseases so rare that many doctors don't even recognize their symptoms. Now a federal panel is urging Congress to increase research funding Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and and establish a new federal office to educate the public and the medical community about such "orphan" diseases. Lack of basic research forms a major barrier to prevention and treatment of rare disorders, according to the Rockville, Md.-based National Commission on Orphan Diseases, which last week sent 54 recommendations to Congress and to Health and Human Services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan. "Research is critical," adds panel chairman Jess Thoene, who serves as medical director of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in Washington, D.C. "We must make it clear to doctors and investigators that the treatment of rare diseases is a national priority." The federal government spent $1.3 billion on rare-disease research in fiscal year 1987. But more than half that amount went to study 200 rare forms of cancer, leaving only $640 million for researchers studying the remaining orphan diseases, says the commission. |
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