Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program
Position: Every hour, someone in the United States is diagnosed with MS and approximately 400,000 Americans are living with the disease. There is no cure and the treatments are often difficult to endure and very expensive. Despite that, MS research funding is decreasing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the leading source of research funding for the disease.
This reality has made it necessary for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to seek ways to diversify funding avenues. One logical program is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
CDMRP is funded through the Department of Defense (DoD), via annual Congressional legislation known as the Defense Appropriations Act. Dollars for the CDMRP are added every year during the budget process by members of Congress, in response to requests by advocates and disease survivors. Because of emerging evidence of a link between combat service and the incidence of MS, we believe this is an appropriate source of funding.
Request: We ask members of Congress to support a $15 million appropriation to the CDMRP for MS research by signing a Dear Colleague letter to the leadership of the appropriations committees. This will provide the resources needed to move us closer to a world free of MS.
Supporting Rationale: CDMRP support for MS research is critical to people suffering with MS and to a large and growing veteran population living with MS, especially as federal funding for MS research decreases at the NIH.
• There is a significant, unmet MS research funding need and research in the CDMRP could help millions of Americans across the country touched by MS.
• Emerging evidence shows that Gulf War veterans might be at increased risk of developing MS. This includes (a) a study in the Annals of Neurology identifying 5,345 cases of MS among veterans that were deemed “service-connected,” which represents a significant increase from previous studies; and (b) an epidemiologic study finding an unexpected, two-fold increase in MS between 1993 and 2000 in Kuwait, which suggests a potential environmental trigger for MS.
• More than 25,000 veterans with MS were enrolled with the Veterans Health Administration between 1998 and 2003. The VA is currently funding two MS Centers of Excellence to provide clinical care and education, and physicians at these institutions have sought funding to explore a potential link between MS and combat service.
• An advisory committee commissioned by the VA recently recommended further study into the potential link between combat service and the increased risk of developing MS. By studying this population, scientists might be able to understand the cause and triggers of MS and develop effective treatments.
• The CDMRP has grown its scope of research and reputation. The research conducted via the CDMRP now includes — breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers and neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, myelogenous leukemia, prion diseases, and the state of health issues in “minority and underserved populations.” The amounts appropriated for each research program range from $3.2 million to $150 million