STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER 20, 2026 TO
SEPTEMBER 26, 2026 AS FRONTOTEMPORAL DEGENERATION
AWARENESS WEEK
WHEREAS, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration reports that
frontotemporal degeneration is a terminal and incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting
the frontal and temporal lobes, causing impairments to speech, personality, behavior and motor
skills, and that it takes an average of 3.6 years from the start of symptoms to get an accurate
diagnosis, with an average life expectancy of 7 to 13 years after the start of symptoms; and
WHEREAS, frontotemporal degeneration may strike people between the ages of 21 and
80, with the largest percentage of those affected being between 45 and 64, and is the most
common form of dementia for people under 60 years of age, rendering people in the prime of
life unable to work or function normally; and
WHEREAS, frontotemporal degeneration imposes average annual costs associated with
care and living with the disease that are approximately double those of Alzheimer's disease and
is identified in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease as a related dementia and
included as part of the vision of a nation free of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; 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 We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Legislature
now assembled in the Second Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this
opportunity to recognize September 20, 2026 to September 26, 2026 as Frontotemporal
Degeneration Awareness Week.
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