House Resolution 18 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 18 BY WOOD A Resolution designating Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness 1 Week. 2 WHEREAS, many people with serious, chronic mental 3 illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and 4 severe depression; or gastrointestinal disorders, 5 including gastroparesis, nausea, and vomiting; 6 require treatment with medications that work as 7 dopamine receptor blocking agents (DRBAs) such as 8 antipsychotics; and 9 WHEREAS, ongoing treatment with DRBAs can be 10 helpful or even life-saving, but for many people, the 11 medications can lead to Tardive Dyskinesia (TD); and 12 WHEREAS, TD is a movement disorder that is 13 characterized by random, involuntary, and uncontrolled 14 movements of different muscles in the face, torso, and 15 extremities; and 16 WHEREAS, TD can significantly affect a persons 17 quality of life by making routine physical tasks more 18 difficult; and 19 WHEREAS, TD can be a permanent condition and may 20 develop months, years, or even decades after a person 21 starts taking DRBAs, even if the person discontinued 22 using DRBAs; and 23 WHEREAS, the National Institute of Neurological 24 Disorders and Stroke estimates that at least 500,000 25 Americans suffer from TD; and 26 WHEREAS, recent research has shown that between 27 20 and 30 percent of all people taking DRBAs will 28 -1- LSB 2566YH (1) 90 dg/rn 1/ 2
H.R. 18 experience TD, with women, African Americans, and the 1 elderly being most at risk; and 2 WHEREAS, years of difficult and challenging 3 research have resulted in scientific breakthroughs 4 leading to two new United States Food and Drug 5 Administration-approved treatments for TD; and 6 WHEREAS, TD is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed as 7 a mental illness, and as a result, patients are often 8 prescribed more neurologic drugs which increase the 9 probably the patient will develop a severe or disabling 10 case of TD; and 11 WHEREAS, the American Psychiatric Association 12 recommends regular TD screenings for patients taking 13 DRBAs; and 14 WHEREAS, the House of Representatives has the 15 privilege of being in a position to raise public and 16 medical community awareness of TD; NOW THEREFORE, 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 18 the House of Representatives designates the week of 19 May 1, 2023, as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week, and 20 encourages every Iowan to become better informed about 21 Tardive Dyskinesia. 22 -2- LSB 2566YH (1) 90 dg/rn 2/ 2