22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Awareness Month

Proclamation
By the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome is a genetic condition that causes many physical changes to the body, such as the formation of distinct facial features, and can lead to heart, bone and immune system disorders; and

WHEREAS, 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome is where there is a small amount of genetic material missing, termed a microdeletion, on the long arm (referred to as the q arm) of chromosome 22; and

WHEREAS, 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome occurs in approximately 1 out of every 4,000 live births. In most cases, the 22Q deletion occurs de novo (the patient is the first in the family to have this deletion). In approximately one in 10 families (10%) the deletion is present because one of the parents has the same deletion and passes it on to their baby. As a result, parents of a baby born with 22Q11.2 deletion syndrome should have a blood test to determine their chances of having other children with this syndrome; and

WHEREAS, symptoms of 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome may include cleft palate, heart complications, learning difficulties, poor eyesight, middle-ear infections, seizures resulting from low levels of parathyroid hormone, low resistance to infection, weak muscles, scoliosis and low calcium levels; and

WHEREAS, 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome can be diagnosed based on a physical exam and the presence of standard symptoms. A blood test called FISH (Fluorescence in situ hybridization) can be done and more detailed genetic tests are possible, but rare because they require much more sophisticated laboratory techniques; and

WHEREAS, there is no cure for the 22Q11.2 deletion. The key to progress in the battle against 22Q11.2 deletion is awareness:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim November 2015, as

22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Awareness Month

in the State of Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 13th day of November 2015.

Robert Bentley
Governor