The Senate recently passed a resolution, sponsored by Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro), designating March as Multiple System Atrophy Awareness (MSA) Month in Tennessee. The resolution was presented on the floor of the Senate where former Coach Bob Summers provided powerful remarks regarding the disease's impact on his wife, the late Susan Summers, who died in 2012. Coach Summers was joined by Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center physicians, Dr. Italo Biaggioni, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; and Dr. David Robertson, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Neurology, who talked about the need for research for treatments with fewer side effects, and ultimately, to find a cure.
MSA is a rare degenerative and terminal neurological disease that has a distinctive impact on each patient. Symptoms include problems with balance, coordination, gait, bladder and bowel functions, speech, swallowing, and breathing. Treatment for the disease requires a multi-disciplinary approach, including physical, psychological, and financial support for patients and caregivers.
"When you go through the MSA journey, as Sue and I did for over 11 years, you need a good support team around you," said Coach Summers. "Your family being one, then your friends that support you, and having a good medical team close by is also very important."
"Our goal is to use research to improve patient's quality of life," said Dr. Biaggioni. "It is very difficult to treat. We have made a lot of strides and we continue to search for a cure and improvement of quality of life. We are very grateful to Coach Summers and Senator Reeves to bring together all these groups and create this MSA March Awareness Month. On behalf of the MSA Coalition, a patient advocacy and support group, I am thankful to you for making this possible."
Summers said that Tennessee's adoption of March as MSA Awareness month makes the Volunteer State one of thirty-plus states to recognize the need to bring awareness to the disease.
