FTD Awareness Week

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

FTD Awareness Week

WHEREAS, frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is a terminal and incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting the frontal and temporal lobes, causing impairments to speech, personality, behavior, and motor skills; and

WHEREAS, FTD represents a group of brain disorders caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain, and it is frequently referred to as frontotemporal dementia, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), or Pick's disease; and

WHEREAS, it takes an average of 3.6 years from the start of symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis of FTD with average life expectancy of 7-13 years after start of symptoms; and

WHEREAS, FTD may strike people between the ages of 21 and 80 with the largest percentage of those affected being between 45 and 64, rendering people in the prime of life unable to work or function normally; 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, FTD represents an estimated 5 to 15 percent of all dementia cases and is the most common form of dementia for people under 60 years of age; and

WHEREAS, while there is currently no cure or treatments available for FTD, there are interventions to manage the symptoms and maximize quality of life; and

WHEREAS, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration seeks to improve the quality of life of people affected by FTD through research, awareness, support, education and advocacy;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize September 22-29, 2024, as FRONTOTEMPORAL DEGENERATION AWARENESS WEEK in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations