Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR By Senator Rodriguez 39-02370-21 20212014__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Senate Resolution A resolution recognizing the week of May 2-8, 2021, as 2 “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week” in Florida and encouraging all Floridians to become better informed about tardive dyskinesia. 5

WHEREAS, many people with serious, chronic mental illness, 7 such as schizophrenia and other schizoaffective disorders, 8 bipolar disorder, or severe depression, require treatment with medications that work as dopamine receptor blocking agents 10 (DRBAs), including antipsychotics, and

WHEREAS, many people who have gastrointestinal disorders, 12 including gastroparesis, nausea, and vomiting, also require treatment with DRBAs, and

WHEREAS, while ongoing treatment with these medications can be very helpful, and even lifesaving, for many people, it also can lead to tardive dyskinesia (TD), a movement disorder that is characterized by random, involuntary, and uncontrolled movements of different muscles in the face, torso, and extremities, and

WHEREAS, TD commonly manifests through movement of the arms, legs, fingers, or toes and, in some cases, may affect the tongue, lips, and jaw, and

WHEREAS, other symptoms of TD include involuntary swaying of the torso or hips and involuntary movement of the muscles associated with walking, speech, eating, and breathing, and

WHEREAS, TD can develop months, years, or decades after a person starts taking DRBAs and even after discontinuing the use of those medications, and, while not everyone who takes a DRBA develops TD, those who do often find the aftereffects are Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR 2014 39-02370-21 20212014__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. permanent, and

WHEREAS, common risk factors for TD include advanced age and alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and postmenopausal women and people with mood disorders also are at higher risk of developing TD, and

WHEREAS, a person’s risk for TD increases after taking DRBAs for just months, and the longer the person takes these medications, the higher his or her risk, and

WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 500,000 people in the United States suffer from TD, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness estimates that one in every four patients receiving long-term treatment with an antipsychotic medication will experience TD, and

WHEREAS, TD is often unrecognized, and patients suffering from the illness are commonly misdiagnosed, and

WHEREAS, patients suffering from TD often suffer embarrassment due to their abnormal and involuntary movements, 46 which leads them to withdraw from society and increasingly isolate themselves as the disease progresses, and

WHEREAS, caregivers of patients with TD face many challenges and are often responsible for their overall care, and

WHEREAS, years of research have resulted in recent scientific breakthroughs, with two new TD treatments approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and

WHEREAS, the American Psychiatric Association recommends regular screening for TD in patients taking DRBAs, NOW, 55 THEREFORE, 56

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: 58 Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR 2014 39-02370-21 20212014__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 59 That the week of May 2-8, 2021, is recognized as “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week” in Florida and that all Floridians are encouraged to become better informed about tardive dyskinesia. 63