Senate Resolution No. 1100
BY: Senator HINCHEY
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
September 21-27, 2025, as Frontotemporal
Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New York
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize
official weeks that are set aside to increase awareness of serious
health conditions that affect the lives of citizens of New York State;
and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 21-27, 2025, as
Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New York, in
conjunction with the observance of World Frontotemporal Degeneration
Awareness Week; and
WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is a terminal and
incurable brain disease affecting the frontal and temporal lobes causing
impairments to speech, personality, behavior and motor skills; and
WHEREAS, FTD most commonly affects people in the 40-60 age range,
rendering people in the prime of life unable to work or function
normally; and
WHEREAS, FTD represents an estimated 10-20 percent of all dementia
cases and is the most common form of dementia for people under the age
of 60; and
WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration is often misdiagnosed as a
psychiatric problem or other neurodegenerative disease because of the
wide range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms and their young onset;
and
WHEREAS, FTD imposes average annual costs associated with care and
living with the disease that are approximately double those of
Alzheimer's disease; and
WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration often affects a person's
ability to express emotions show affection and empathy for loved ones;
and
WHEREAS, In the behavioral variant of FTD, a person's sense of
social graces and appropriate behavior can be lost, and their
personality may be significantly changed; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, in the language variants of FTD (primary
progressive aphasia), a person may have trouble producing speech and
understanding grammar, lose the meaning of words or become hesitant in
their speech and may eventually become mute; and
WHEREAS, In the movement variants of Frontotemporal Degeneration, a
person may experience muscle weakness, falling, loss of balance,
difficulty making speech, difficulty swallowing, or choking; and
WHEREAS, While there has never been a global epidemiology study of
FTD, it is estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 people are affected
in the United States today; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater awareness of this
serious disease, and more must be done to increase activity at the
local, State and National levels; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 21-27, 2025, as
Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New York; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.
