National Scleroderma Awareness Month, 1994

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Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 149
Thursday, August 4, 1994

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Title 3--
The President
Proclamation 6710 of July 29, 1994

National Scleroderma Awareness Month, 1994

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Literally meaning ``hard skin,'' scleroderma is a
chronic disease that thickens and attaches the skin to
underlying structures. Its cause is unknown.

Scleroderma strikes individuals of every age, sex, and
ethnic background, although women between the ages of
25 and 55 are four times more likely to be afflicted.
It is a painful and sometimes progressive disorder of
the connective tissue that can cause disability,
disfigurement, and even death. Its impact, in terms of
both physical and emotional suffering, is enormous.

In patients with scleroderma, there is an excess
production of collagen, the main fibrous component of
connective tissue. As a result, the formation of dense,
compact tissue causes the skin to lose its elasticity.
Scleroderma is also a disease of the vascular and
immune systems and can impair internal organs, such as
the kidneys, lungs, heart, and gastrointestinal tract.

New biomedical research findings and innovative
approaches to diagnosis and treatment are essential in
fighting against this multifaceted disorder. The
Federal Government and private voluntary organizations
are working together to increase both public awareness
of and research on scleroderma. Their objective is to
discover the cause of this devastating disease and to
develop effective ways to prevent, treat, and cure it.

I applaud all those who are working to bring public
attention to this disabling illness, those who are
aiding its victims, and those who are researching its
complex nature.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-92, has designated the
month of August 1994 as ``National Scleroderma
Awareness Month'' and has authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this
month.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month
of August 1994 as National Scleroderma Awareness Month.
I urge all Government agencies and the people of the
United States, as well as educational, philanthropic,
scientific, medical, and health care organizations and
professionals, to participate in appropriate activities
to encourage greater awareness of scleroderma and
further research into its cause and cure.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and nineteenth.

(Presidential Sig.)>