Proclamation 5689 --
National Alzheimer's Disease Month, 1987
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
Alzheimer's
disease is a degenerative brain disorder that causes progressive loss of memory
and intellectual function. Those afflicted suffer increasing forgetfulness,
confusion, irritability, and other changes in personality and behavior, and sometimes
in judgment, concentration, and speech.
The
tragedy of Alzheimer's disease has spurred scientists to intensify their
efforts to understand what causes the brain to deteriorate. Recently, a
research team cloned a gene involved in the wayward biochemistry of the
Alzheimer's brain and located this gene on a specific chromosome. This
achievement opens new lines of investigation and offers hope that one day we
can identify those at risk and develop methods of treatment and prevention.
Until
we conquer Alzheimer's disease, we must continue our research efforts, provide
the public with information about the disorder, and seek other ways to ease its
burden on patients, families, and caregivers. Many people and organizations are
already devoted to this effort, including the Federal government's National
Institute on Aging and National Institute of Mental Health and the private
sector's Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
Association, which conducts and promotes research and lends support to families
seeking help.
The
Congress, by Public Law 100 - 68, has designated the month of November 1987 as
``National Alzheimer's Disease Month'' and authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of August, in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,