WHEREAS, in the United States each year, a fatal Alzheimer’s-like neurological disease called Niemann Pick Type C is robbing children of their ability to walk, talk, eat or remember the name of their favorite stuffed animal; and

WHEREAS, all children diagnosed with Niemann Pick Type C ultimately die due to no available treatments; and

WHEREAS, in the United States each year, one out of every 7,500 babies will be born with a genetic disease such as Niemann Pick Type C, resulting in devastating deaths of thousands of children; and

WHEREAS, in the United States each year, Alzheimer’s is the 7th leading cause of death and children with Niemann Pick Type C could hold important clues in finding therapies for millions of people; and

WHEREAS, no treatment can stop the progression of Niemann Pick Type C or Alzheimer’s disease and we must find new ways to discover, develop and test new treatments for insidious neurological diseases that afflict people of all ages; and

WHEREAS, a Niemann Pick Type C diagnosis is a “family diagnosis” and a tremendous emotional and financial burden for a family and child to bear; and

WHEREAS, the average cost of a single experimental drug treatment for a Niemann Pick Type C child is $80,000 per year, not including medical expenses and hospitalizations; total costs of treatment over the lifetime of a Niemann Pick Type C afflicted child reaches many millions of dollars; and

WHEREAS, educating our communities and nation about this tragic disease is essential to generating federal and private funding to treat memory disorders that afflict millions of people around the world;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim May 10, 2008 as,