Senate Joint Resolution 26-004
Page 1, Line 101Concerning recognizing the week of September 20 through
Page 1, Line 102September 26, 2026, as "Frontotemporal Degeneration
Page 1, Line 103Awareness Week".
Page 1, Line 1WHEREAS, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration
Page 1, Line 2reports that Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is a terminal and
Page 1, Line 3incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting the frontal and temporal
Page 1, Line 4lobes of the brain; and
Page 1, Line 5
Page 1, Line 6WHEREAS, It is the custom of the General Assembly to recognize
Page 1, Line 7official time periods to increase awareness of serious health conditions
Page 1, Line 8that affect the lives of Colorado citizens; and
Page 1, Line 9
Page 1, Line 10WHEREAS, In conjunction with the observance of World FTD
Page 1, Line 11Awareness Week, Colorado will join many others in recognizing
Page 2, Line 1September 20 through September 26, 2026, as "Frontotemporal
Page 2, Line 2Degeneration Awareness Week"; and
Page 2, Line 3
Page 2, Line 4WHEREAS, FTD causes impairments to speech, personality,
Page 2, Line 5behavior, and motor skills--which constitute a major public health
Page 2, Line 6concern; and
Page 2, Line 7
Page 2, Line 8WHEREAS, It takes an average of 3.6 years from the start of
Page 2, Line 9symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis of FTD, with a remaining life
Page 2, Line 10expectancy of 7 to 13 years, on average, after the start of symptoms; and
Page 2, Line 11
Page 2, Line 12WHEREAS, FTD strikes people between the ages of 21 and 80,
Page 2, Line 13with the largest percentage of those affected being between 45 and 64,
Page 2, Line 14rendering people in their prime of life unable to work or function
Page 2, Line 15normally; and
Page 2, Line 16
Page 2, Line 17WHEREAS, FTD imposes additional average annual costs of care,
Page 2, Line 18impacting those living with the disease; this financial cost is at least 120
Page 2, Line 19percent the economic burden of Alzheimer's disease; and
Page 2, Line 20
Page 2, Line 21WHEREAS, FTD is named in The National Plan to Address
Page 2, Line 22Alzheimer's Disease as a related dementia and included as a priority in the
Page 2, Line 23goals and strategies of the Plan to achieve the vision of a nation without
Page 2, Line 24Alzheimer's disease and all other forms of dementia; and
Page 2, Line 25
Page 2, Line 26WHEREAS, While FTD is recognized as a related dementia within
Page 2, Line 27the "Talk About Dementia" awareness campaign spearheaded by the
Page 2, Line 28Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, this resolution
Page 2, Line 29serves to establish "FTD Awareness Week" by supporting the goals laid
Page 2, Line 30out in similar statewide initiatives to comprehensively address and
Page 2, Line 31acknowledge all forms of dementia; and
Page 2, Line 32
Page 2, Line 33WHEREAS, With FTD comprising an estimated 5 to 15 percent
Page 2, Line 34of all forms of dementia cases, in aggregate, FTD is the most common
Page 2, Line 35form of dementia for people under 60 years old; and
Page 2, Line 36
Page 2, Line 37WHEREAS, Approximately 40 percent of people with FTD have
Page 2, Line 38a family history of FTD or a closely related condition such as ALS
Page 2, Line 39(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), and roughly half of those people are
Page 2, Line 40found to have an inherited form manifested in gene mutations in the
Page 2, Line 41Progranulin, C9orf72, Tau/MAPT, and other rarer genes; and
Page 2, Line 42
Page 3, Line 1WHEREAS, FTD is often misdiagnosed as either a psychiatric
Page 3, Line 2disorder or a catch-all neurodegenerative disease due to the vast range
Page 3, Line 3and diverse combinations of cognitive and behavioral symptoms, and
Page 3, Line 4most cases of FTD are diagnosed in people aged 45 to 65--an age group
Page 3, Line 5much younger than all other common forms of dementia that typically
Page 3, Line 6affect those over 65; and
Page 3, Line 7
Page 3, Line 8WHEREAS, FTD often negatively changes a person's ability to
Page 3, Line 9express emotions and show affection and empathy for loved ones; and
Page 3, Line 10
Page 3, Line 11WHEREAS, In the behavioral variant of FTD, a person's sense of
Page 3, Line 12social etiquette and appropriate behavior can be completely lost; it can
Page 3, Line 13also result in a distortion of personality so profound that loved ones may
Page 3, Line 14feel they are living with a complete stranger; and
Page 3, Line 15
Page 3, Line 16WHEREAS, In the language variants of FTD, in addition to
Page 3, Line 17Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), variants include Semantic Variant
Page 3, Line 18PPA (svPPA, also called Semantic Dementia), Nonfluent/Agrammatic
Page 3, Line 19Variant PPA (nfvPPA), Logopenic Variant PPA (lvPPA), Behavioral
Page 3, Line 20Variant FTD (bvFTD), and FTD with Motor Neuron Disease
Page 3, Line 21(FTD-ALS/MND)--noting the 3 PPA subtypes are distinct, but all are
Page 3, Line 22considered part of the "language-led" (aphasic) spectrum of FTD; and
Page 3, Line 23
Page 3, Line 24WHEREAS, Additionally in the language variants of FTD, a
Page 3, Line 25person may experience difficulty speaking and understanding grammar,
Page 3, Line 26forget the meaning of words, and demonstrate a drastically diminished
Page 3, Line 27vocabulary--becoming increasingly hesitant to speak and potentially
Page 3, Line 28losing the ability to speak altogether; and
Page 3, Line 29
Page 3, Line 30WHEREAS, In the movement variants of FTD, a person may
Page 3, Line 31experience muscle weakness, falling, loss of balance, difficulty making
Page 3, Line 32speech, difficulty swallowing, or choking; and
Page 3, Line 33
Page 3, Line 34WHEREAS, A formal global epidemiology study of FTD is yet to
Page 3, Line 35take place. However, the current estimation is believed to be over 60,000
Page 3, Line 36people affected in the United States, which is likely a paltry fraction of
Page 3, Line 37the total figure, if accounting for the gap of cases that comprise the initial
Page 3, Line 384 years of misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis in aggregate; and
Page 3, Line 39
Page 3, Line 40WHEREAS, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration is
Page 3, Line 41the leading national organization exclusively focused on the spectrum of
Page 3, Line 42FTD disorders with a mission to improve the quality of life of people
Page 4, Line 1affected by FTD and drive research to a cure; and
Page 4, Line 2
Page 4, Line 3WHEREAS, Raising greater awareness of this serious disease is
Page 4, Line 4imperative, and further action is needed to increase engagement and
Page 4, Line 5advocacy at the local, state, and national levels; now, therefore,
Page 4, Line 6
Page 4, Line 7Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly
Page 4, Line 8of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
Page 4, Line 9
Page 4, Line 10That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly,
Page 4, Line 11proclaim the week of September 20 through September 26, 2026, as
Page 4, Line 12"Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week" in Colorado.
Page 4, Line 13
Page 4, Line 14Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of this Joint Resolution be
Page 4, Line 15sent to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.