CA SCR116

Proclaims the week of September 22 to September 29, 2024, inclusive, as Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week in California, in conjunction with World FTD Awareness Week.

Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is a terminal, incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting the frontal and temporal lobes with average life expectancy of 7 to 13 years after symptom onset and average diagnostic delay of 3.6 years.

FTD represents 5 to 15 percent of all dementia cases and is the most common form of dementia for people under age 60, with an estimated 60,000 people affected in the United States.

FTD imposes average annual care costs approximately double those of Alzheimer's disease and often strikes people in their 40s to 60s during their prime working years.

FTD is frequently misdiagnosed as a psychiatric problem due to its wide range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms, and approximately 40 percent of cases have a family history of FTD or related conditions such as ALS.