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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Trujillo

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/02/07

HB HJM 9

SHORT TITLE Support Cavernous Angioma Research

SB

ANALYST Hanika Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Health Policy Commission

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 9 urges the State of New Mexico to support research on cavernous

angioma, a disease that disproportionately affects Hispanic New Mexicans.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There is no appropriation attached to this legislation.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

House Joint Memorial 9 provides the following:

•

Cavernous angioma is a devastating blood disease that has enormous consequences for

those affected and their families; and

•

Cavernous angiomas are formations in the brain that cannot be detected easily except

through very specific medical scans; and

•

Cavernous angiomas appear to be passed from one generation to the next; and

•

Those with a cavernous angioma should not take blood thinners or aspirin, but are rarely

aware that they have the disease; and

House Joint Memorial 9 – Page

2

•

Cavernous angiomas are more common in New Mexico than elsewhere because of the

concentration of families; and

•

A person with a cavernous angioma may go undiagnosed until sudden death or stroke.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Memorial requests the Department of Health (DOH), Human Services Department (HSD)

and the University of New Mexico (UNM) to appoint a committee to study funding sources to

support research on cavernous angioma. The Memorial further requests the committee to devise

educational campaigns using resources currently available to inform New Mexicans of the

dangers and warning signs of cavernous angioma.

The committee will report to the interim legislative Health and Human Services Committee

about its findings and educational efforts by November 2008. Copies of this memorial will be

transmitted to DOH, HSD and UNM.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

According to Angioma Alliance, cavernous angiomas are clusters of abnormal blood vessels

found in the brain, spinal cord, and rarely in other areas of the body. Cavernous angiomas range

in size from microscopic to inches in diameter and typically look like a raspberry. They are little

bubbles filled with blood and lined with a layer of cells.

The most common symptom for cavernous angioma is a seizure or there are no symptoms at all.

Cavernous angiomas can also cause weakness in the legs or arms, vision problems or memory

and attention problems called neurological deficits.

According to Angioma Alliance:

•

Angiomas can bleed slowly within the walls of the angioma and remain quite small. A

small hemorrhage may not require surgery, but may be reabsorbed by the body.

However, continued small hemorrhages in the same cavernous angioma often cause

deterioration in function.

•

Angiomas can bleed more profusely within the walls of the angioma. This can cause

them to grow and put pressure on the surrounding brain tissue.

•

Angiomas may bleed through a weak spot in the angioma wall into the surrounding brain

tissue. This is called an overt hemorrhage. The risk of hemorrhage is dependent on the

number of angiomas. The higher the number, the greater the chance of one or more

hemorrhages occurring sometime over a lifetime. Those angiomas that have bled are

most likely to bleed again, within the first two years after their initial bleed. A

hemorrhage in the brain stem can be life threatening.

Cavernous Angioma Statistics:

•

One in 100-200 people have at least one cavernous angioma.

•

Thirty percent will develop symptoms.

•

Twenty-five to thirty percent are diagnosed under the age of 20.

•

Sixty percent are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

•

Ten to fifteen percent diagnosed are over the age of 40.

House Joint Memorial 9 – Page

3

•

Twenty percent with the illness are inherited with a higher rate in Mexican American

families.

•

A child that has someone with the familial form has a fifty percent chance of inheriting

the illness and at least three genes affected by the illness.

•

A solitary cavernous angioma can be present at birth or develop later in life.

AHO/csd