Lawmakers Named 'Health Care Advocates of the Year' by Psoriasis Patient Group

KENSINGTON, Md., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Psoriasis Cure Now,"
a nonprofit patient advocacy group, today named Congressman David Wu of Oregon
and Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey as its "Health Care Advocates of the
Year" for 2007.
The lawmakers introduced the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research,
Cure, and Care Act of 2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S.
Senate. The bills would, among other things, "expand and intensify research"
on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). Psoriasis research funding has lagged at NIH even as biomedical
research on other diseases has doubled. The House bill, H.R. 1188, currently
has 60 cosponsors, while the Senate bill, S. 1459, has nine cosponsors.
"Congressman Wu and Senator Menendez stepped forward in 2007 to address a
persistent, 15-year shortfall in psoriasis research funding," said Michael
Paranzino, president of Psoriasis Cure Now. "Their bill, if it becomes law,
will go a long way towards improving the lives of the as many as 7.5 million
Americans with psoriasis. We applaud their leadership and wish them success in
moving this bill forward."
Psoriasis is a disease of the immune system that can first strike at any
age, causing dry, painful skin lesions that can crack, bleed and itch. Many
people with psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis, a chronic, progressive
inflammatory disease that causes joint pain, stiffness and swelling. A recent
study found that those with severe psoriasis died an average of four years
earlier than people without severe psoriasis.
In honor of this year's winners, Psoriasis Cure Now is making a
contribution to Camp Horizon in Millville, Pennsylvania, part of the American
Academy of Dermatology's Camp Discovery program for children with chronic
dermatologic conditions.
Winners for 2006 were Congressman Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, and Tom and
Joy Murdough of the Murdough Foundation of Hudson, Ohio. The winners in 2005
were Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Rep. Ralph Regula of Ohio and Rep.
Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. For more information on psoriasis and psoriatic
arthritis, visit http://www.psoriasis-cure-now.org .
SOURCE Psoriasis Cure Now

Michael Paranzino of Psoriasis Cure Now, +1-301-571-2393,
michael@psoriasis-cure-now.org