PRINTER'S NO. 1557
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
264
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY COLLETT, STREET, KEARNEY, BROWNE, MARTIN,
PHILLIPS-HILL, COSTA, FONTANA, SCHWANK AND J. WARD,
APRIL 8, 2022
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 8, 2022
A RESOLUTION
Designating the week of May 1 through May 7, 2022, as "Tardive
Dyskinesia Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Many individuals with serious, chronic mental
illness, such as schizophrenia and other schizoaffective
disorders, bipolar disorder or severe depression, or people who
suffer with gastrointestinal disorders, including gastroparesis,
nausea and vomiting, require treatment with medications that
work as dopamine receptor blocking agents (DRBAs), including
antipsychotics; and
WHEREAS, While ongoing treatment with these medications can
be very helpful, and even lifesaving, for many people, it can
also lead to tardive dyskinesia (TD); and
WHEREAS, TD is a movement disorder that is characterized by
random, involuntary and uncontrolled movements of different
muscles in the face, trunk and extremities; and
WHEREAS, TD can develop months, years or decades after an
individual starts taking DRBAs and even after they have
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discontinued use of those medications; and
WHEREAS, Not everyone who takes a DRBA develops TD, but if it
develops it is often permanent; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that more than 600,000 Americans
suffer from TD; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Alliance for Mental
Illness, one in every four patients receiving long-term
treatment with an antipsychotic medication will experience TD;
and
WHEREAS, Years of difficult and challenging research have
resulted in recent scientific breakthroughs, with two new
treatments for TD approved by the United States Food and Drug
Administration; and
WHEREAS, TD is often unrecognized and patients suffering from
the illness are commonly misdiagnosed; and
WHEREAS, Regular screening for TD in patients taking DRBAs is
recommended by the American Psychiatric Association; and
WHEREAS, The Senate can raise awareness of TD in the public
and medical community; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of May 1 through
May 7, 2022, as "Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week" in
Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate encourage each individual in
Pennsylvania and the United States to become better informed
about and aware of tardive dyskinesia.
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