HLS 23RS-2290 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 113
BY REPRESENTATIVE FREEMAN
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH: Designates May 1-7, 2023, as Tardive Dyskinesia
Awareness Week
1 A RESOLUTION
2To designate May 1-7, 2023 as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week.
3 WHEREAS, many persons with serious and chronic mental illnesses such as
4schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression, or severe gastrointestinal disorders
5such as gastroparesis, nausea, and vomiting, require treatment with medications that work
6as dopamine receptor blocking agents, or DRBAs, including antipsychotics; and
7 WHEREAS, while ongoing treatments with these medications can be very helpful,
8and even lifesaving for many people, it can also lead to Tardive Dyskinesia, or TD; and
9 WHEREAS, TD is a movement disorder that is characterized by random,
10involuntary, and uncontrolled movements of different muscles in the face, trunk, and
11extremities; and
12 WHEREAS, TD can develop months, years, or decades after a person starts taking
13DRBAs and even after he or she has discontinued use of these medications; and
14 WHEREAS, not everyone who takes a DRBA develops TD, but if it develops, it is
15often permanent; and
16 WHEREAS, it is estimated that over 600,000 Americans suffer from TD; and
17 WHEREAS, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four
18patients receiving long-term treatment with an antipsychotic medication will experience TD;
19and
Page 1 of 2 HLS 23RS-2290 ORIGINAL
HR NO. 113
1 WHEREAS, years of difficult and challenging research have resulted in recent
2scientific breakthroughs, with two new treatments for TD approved by the United States
3Food and Drug Administration; and
4 WHEREAS, TD is often unrecognized, and patients suffering from the illness are
5commonly misdiagnosed; and
6 WHEREAS, regular screening for TD in patients taking DRBA medications is
7recommended by the American Psychiatric Association; and
8 WHEREAS, the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana can raise
9awareness of TD in the public and medical communities.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
11Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate the week of May 1-7, 2023, as Tardive
12Dyskinesia Awareness Week and does hereby encourage all citizens of Louisiana to become
13better informed and aware of Tardive Dyskinesia.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 113 Original 2023 Regular Session Freeman
Designates May 1-7, 2023 as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week.
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