Florida Senate - 2021                            (NP)    SR 2014
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       39-02370-21                                           20212014__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the week of May 2-8, 2021, as
    3         “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week” in Florida and
    4         encouraging all Floridians to become better informed
    5         about tardive dyskinesia.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, many people with serious, chronic mental illness,
    8  such as schizophrenia and other schizoaffective disorders,
    9  bipolar disorder, or severe depression, require treatment with
   10  medications that work as dopamine receptor blocking agents
   11  (DRBAs), including antipsychotics, and
   12         WHEREAS, many people who have gastrointestinal disorders,
   13  including gastroparesis, nausea, and vomiting, also require
   14  treatment with DRBAs, and
   15         WHEREAS, while ongoing treatment with these medications can
   16  be very helpful, and even lifesaving, for many people, it also
   17  can lead to tardive dyskinesia (TD), a movement disorder that is
   18  characterized by random, involuntary, and uncontrolled movements
   19  of different muscles in the face, torso, and extremities, and
   20         WHEREAS, TD commonly manifests through movement of the
   21  arms, legs, fingers, or toes and, in some cases, may affect the
   22  tongue, lips, and jaw, and
   23         WHEREAS, other symptoms of TD include involuntary swaying
   24  of the torso or hips and involuntary movement of the muscles
   25  associated with walking, speech, eating, and breathing, and
   26         WHEREAS, TD can develop months, years, or decades after a
   27  person starts taking DRBAs and even after discontinuing the use
   28  of those medications, and, while not everyone who takes a DRBA
   29  develops TD, those who do often find the aftereffects are
   30  permanent, and
   31         WHEREAS, common risk factors for TD include advanced age
   32  and alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and
   33  postmenopausal women and people with mood disorders also are at
   34  higher risk of developing TD, and
   35         WHEREAS, a person’s risk for TD increases after taking
   36  DRBAs for just 3 months, and the longer the person takes these
   37  medications, the higher his or her risk, and
   38         WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 500,000 people in
   39  the United States suffer from TD, and the National Alliance for
   40  Mental Illness estimates that one in every four patients
   41  receiving long-term treatment with an antipsychotic medication
   42  will experience TD, and
   43         WHEREAS, TD is often unrecognized, and patients suffering
   44  from the illness are commonly misdiagnosed, and
   45         WHEREAS, patients suffering from TD often suffer
   46  embarrassment due to their abnormal and involuntary movements,
   47  which leads them to withdraw from society and increasingly
   48  isolate themselves as the disease progresses, and
   49         WHEREAS, caregivers of patients with TD face many
   50  challenges and are often responsible for their overall care, and
   51         WHEREAS, years of research have resulted in recent
   52  scientific breakthroughs, with two new TD treatments approved by
   53  the United States Food and Drug Administration, and
   54         WHEREAS, the American Psychiatric Association recommends
   55  regular screening for TD in patients taking DRBAs, NOW,
   56  THEREFORE,
   57  
   58  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   59  
   60         That the week of May 2-8, 2021, is recognized as “Tardive
   61  Dyskinesia Awareness Week” in Florida and that all Floridians
   62  are encouraged to become better informed about tardive
   63  dyskinesia.