>> GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE ON BEHALF OF THE FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL CENTER, TODAY AS WE CELEBRATE A VERY, VERY SPECIAL LECTURE AND WE WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING YOUR BROWN BAG LUNCH WITH US. THIS LECTURE IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS SOME OF THE BEST THE WORLD HAS TO OFFER WHEN IT COMES TO RESEARCHERS AND SCIENTISTS. OUR GUEST SPEAKER TODAY IS DISTINGUISHED AND SHE'S A DISTINGUISHED FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR FROM NEW ZEALAND. IT HAS BEEN SAID ACTUALLY, I GUESS IT WAS IN 1872, THAT GEORGE SPOKE ABOUT AN HEIRLOOM FROM GENERATIONS WAY BACK FROM THE DIM PAST AND THIS ILLNESS THAT HE WAS SPEAKING OF WAS HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE. WE ALL KNOW THAT HUNTINGTON'S AFFECTS AMERICANS AND PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE BUT WE SEE THAT 30,000 AMERICANS ARE AFFECTED BY HUNTINGTONS AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT 150,000 KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A 50% CHANCE OF DEVELOPING HUNTINGTONS. WE ALSO KNOW THAT VERY MUCH WAS NOT REALLY KNOWN ABOUT HUNTINGTON'S UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO OR A FEW DECADES AGO WHEN WE BEGAN THINKING ABOUT THE ILLNESS OR THE DISEASE AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IT WAS THROUGH THE RESEARCH THAT NIH HAS SUPPORTED AND CERTAINLY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKES, THE WORK THAT THEIR SCIENTISTS REALLY HAVE SUPPORTED GAVE US MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON HUNTINGTON'S AND SPECIFICALLY MUCH MORE ON HOW IT'S PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. WE ALSO RECOGNIZE IT CAN BE DEVASTATING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL AND A FAMILY BECAUSE WE SEE THAT MANY FAMILIES, YOU KNOW WATCH AS THEIR LOVED ONES ARE IMPACTED AS THEY FAIL TO BE ABLE TO MOVE, TO BE ABLE TO FEEL AND TO BE ABLE TO THINK. SO, WITH THE WORK OF THE NINDS AND MANY OTHER RESEARCHERS AROUND THE COUNTRY, WE'RE NOW KNOWING MORE ABOUT HUNTINGTON'S. BUT OUR SPEAKER TODAY, DR. MELANIE CHEUNG, WILL PROVIDE US AN OVERVIEW OF HUNTINGTON'S BUT SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS AND POPULATIONS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH AND THINKING ABOUT THROUGHOUT OUR WORK HERE AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINORITY AND HEALTH DISPARITIES BECAUSE THESE AGAIN ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE UNDERSERVED AND HEALTH IS OFTEN TIMES IN A BAD STATE AND TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH HER, THROUGH ONE OF OUR T-37 GRANT PROGRAMS WE'RE VERY, VERY PLEASED ABOUT THAT. WE ALSO WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT SHE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH A FAMILY IN NEW ZEALAND, MAORI FAMILY THAT HAS GIVEN HER THE IMPETUS FOR MUCH OF THE RESEARCH OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS. YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT WHERE SHE'S LOOKING AT PLASTICITY AND THE BRAIN AND A NEW TRAINING APPROACH TO LEARNING AND PARTICULARLY IN THESE--IN THESE PATIENTS, SHE'S ALSO BEEN VERY, VERY EFFECTIVE IN TRAINING YOUNG STUDENTS AND CAREER, WORKING ON CAREERS OF UNDERREPRESENTED MAORI INVESTIGATORS TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO INTO BIY MEDICAL RESEARCH, NOT ONLY HAS SHE WORKED WITH THEM TO TEACH THEM, MENTOR THEM AND ACTUALLY RECOGNIZED FOR VERY, VERY OUTSTANDING ONE-OF-A-KIND PROGRAMS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF, AND SHE COMES TO US AS A FULL BRIGHT COLLAR, SHE IS RESIDENTS IN THE AREA PARTICULARLY AT THE BRAIN RESEARCH INSTITUTE WHERE SHE WORKS WITH THE DOCTOR, AND THERE THEY ARE DOING THIS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT WORK LOOKING AT BRAIN PLASTICITY AND HUNTING TONS AND YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT SHE'S A STAR OF SOME SORTS BECAUSE WHILE SHEA DOES HAVE A Ph.D. IN PHARMACOLOGY FUNDING, UNIVERSITY OF OXNARD, SHE'S BEEN INVOLVED IN MANY PUBLIC PRESS OPPORTUNITIES. SHE HAS AN ARTICLE THAT SHOWED MUCH OF HER RESEARCH, I BEING THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN SCIENCE AND SHE ALSO HAS BEEN ON ABC RADIO IN WHICH DAY THERE WAS A DOCUMENTARY THAT FEATURED HER WORK IT WAS ERNE TITLED ALL IN THE MIND. WE WERE VERY, VERY, DISTINGUISHED TO TO HAVE HER WITH US TODAY O HELP ME AS WE WELCOME DR. MELANIE CHEUNG. [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] >> HELLO, I'M DR. MELANIE CHEUNG AND I JUST INTRODUCED MY SELF IN MY NATIVE LANGUAGE OF MAORI, I WILL TELL YOU THAT NOW THROUGH PICTURES. FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOGARTY PEOPLE, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINORITY HEALTH AND DISPARITIES AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEURODEGENRATIVE DISORDERS AND STROKE FOR INVITING ME TO BE HERE AND I'VE HAD QUITE A WONDERFUL ENRICHING TIME. I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF THE LAND AND I'M SURE I BUTCHERED THEIR NAMES. I'M VERY SORRY, YOU KNOW I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, SO WHAT I'VE DONE SO IT'S THE INTRODUCTION, LINKING ME TO MY LAND, MOUNTAIN, RIVER AND MY PEOPLE AND JUST A BIT ABOUT WHO I AM. THE TOP PICTURE HERE IS ABOUT WHAT TERRACES SO MY PEOPLE, [INDISCERNIBLE] IS THE NAME OF MY TRIBE ASK WE HAD ANENTIOUS ROPINGS OF ROPINGS IN 1886, BUT THIS IS THE MOUNTAIN AND WE HAVE THREE PEAKS, [INDISCERNIBLE] IT'S QUITE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND WE HAD ALSO BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS AND ALSO [INDISCERNIBLE] THAT ARE REALLY QUITE MAGNIFICENT AND I THINK IT'S ABOUT A 15 PEBUTE WALK TO GET 32 THROUGH BEAUTIFULINATIST FIRSTS AND THIS WAS AN AERIAL VIEW OF--THIS IS OUR MOUNTAIN HERE AND A LAKE AND THIS IS A RIVER THAT COMES AROUND HERE AND COMES OUT TO THE OCEAN SO I HAD ANCESTORS THAT MANAGED TO COME OFF THE ROAD AND MANAGED TO SURVIVE THAT BECAUSE WE'RE HERE TODAY AND WE NOW MOVE SORT OF OUT HERE WHICH WAS SORT OF [INDISCERNIBL SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A STORY ABOUT MY PEOPLE AND WE HAVE VERY SPECIAL PLACES THIS, IS ONE WHICH ISA WE CALL A [INDISCERNIBLE], AND THIS IS A MEETING HOUSE THIS, IS A PLACE WHERE WE GO TO MEET AND TO SPEND TIME AND FUNERALS AND WEDDINGS AND WHAT'S SPECIAL IS THAT IT'S NAMED AFTER ONE OF MY ANCESTORS HERE, THESE ARE HIS ARMS, THIS PART HERE IS HIS BRAIN WHICH IS VUBSLY VERY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU HAVE VISITING BRAIN PEOPLE AND ON THE INSIDE IS HIS BODY, HERE IN THE HEART AND ALONG THE RIDGE POLE IS THE SPINE AND HERE ARE THE RIBS THAT COME DOWN. SO THIS IS THE WIDE RECEIVER WHOSE NAME IS [INDISCERNIBLE]. AND THIS IS WHERE WE GO TO EAT. SO THIS IS A VERY SACRED PLACE, WE DON'T GO IN HERE TO EAT, WE GO OVER HERE TO EAT. AND ON THE INSIDE WE HAVE THIS IS--[INDISCERNIBLE] THIS IS JUST SORT OF AN EXAMPLE THAT WE SLEEP INSIDE AND TO GIVE [INDISCERNIBLE] AND WE ALSO MOVE THE [INDISCERNIBLE] AND HAVE TALKS, KIND OF, AND THIS IS WHAT THE VIEW IS FROM [INDISCERNIBLE]. SO IT'S QUITE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. SO WHAT WILL I TALK ABOUT TODAY? I WILL TALK ABOUT MAORI AND THE STAT OUST STATISTICS, WE WILL DISCUSS HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE, WE WILL TALK ABOUT RESEARCH AND WE WILL HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT BRAIN THERAPEUTIC AND APPLICATIONS AND HOW THAT MIGHT WORK OUT FOR US IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE. WHO ARE WE? WE ARE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF NUCLEOTIDES ZEALAND AND WE'RE CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AND WE'RE PART OF THE 370 MILLION PEOPLE WORLD WIDE WHO THE UNITED NATIONS DEFINES AS INDIGENOUS. SO BASICALLY OUR TRIBAL GROUP THAT CAME TO NUCLEOTIDES ZEALAND PROBABLY ABOUT 2000 YEARS AGO FROM HAWAII AND [INDISCERNIBLE] MENTIONED SO WE HAVE VERY STRONG CONNECTIONS TO PLAY THROUGH THAT. SO [INDISCERNIBLE] MAKE UP ABOUT THE POPULATION, SO 680,000 PEOPLE OF A TOTAL OF 4.5 MILLION PEOPLE IN NEW ZEALAND AND WE'RE A VERY INTERESTING GROUP OF PEOPLE. WE'RE VERY YOUNG, OUR MEDIAN AGE AND 24, COMPARED TO THE 28 IN THE GENERAL POPULATION, WE'RE QUITE POOR SO THERE'S A LOT OF POVERTY, OUR MEDIAN IS AROUND 22,000, COMPARED TO 41 IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. WE HAVE A LOT OF SMOKERS WHICH IS RELEVANT FOR DISEASES LIKE STROKE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND WE ARE LEAST EDUCATED IN THE GENERAL POPULATION AND WE ALSO HAD VERY BIG FAMILIES AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT LATER ON IN MY TALK AND WILL BECOME CLEARER. SO THIS IS A PHOTOOF MY MOM AND AUNTIES AND UNCLES AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO KNOW WHAT OTHER MAORI PEOPLE LOOK LIKE. SO THE SNAPSHOT IS REALLY ABOUT THE FACT THAT MAORI HAVE CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DIABETES AND STROKE. AND THAT OCCURS AT TWO-THREE TIMES HIGHER THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THAT A LOT OF THESE DISEASES WE'RE GETTING THEM MUCH, MUCH YOUNGER SO IN PARTICULAR, WITH STROKE, THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THAT MIC. SO IN PARTICULAR WITH STROKE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE GENERAL POPULATION IS THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING STROKE WITH MAORI, WE'RE GETTING THEM AS YOUNG AS 50 IS WHAT THE GENERAL AGES AS BEING. SO THIS THAT IS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND A QUESTION THAT I'M INTERESTED IN KNOWING THE ANSWER TO IS ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE ALSO HAVING ONSET DIABETIC RELATIONS SO I KNOW THERE'S AN EPIDEMIC IN NUCLEOTIDES ZEALAND AND DIABETES TAKING PLACE MUCH EARLIER IN THE POPULATION. AND WE'RE ALSO SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE GETTING TO MEET. SO THIS IS--I CERTAINLY KNOW IN THE ABORIGINAL POPULATION, THIS EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS THAT THEY'RE GETTING DEMENTIA MUCH EARLIER AND THE PAPERS I READ, THEY HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE LINK TO DIABETES. THESE ARE DIABETES WITH THE PANCREAS AND ALL WITH THE OTHER METABOLIC SYNDROMES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE. SO WHAT DOES THIS EQUATE TO? WELL IN MAORI, WE HAVE A HIGHER MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WITH ALL THESE DISEASES WHICH IS EQUATES TO GREATER SUFFERING AND HIGHER USAGE OF HEALTH SYSTEMS. AND SIMILAR THINGS ARE HAPPENING. SO WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN MY LAB ABOUT COMBINING WITH THE SCIENCE AS WELL AS LOOKING AT INDIGENOUS ZONES AND INDIGENOUS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE SEPTIC AND TAKING PIECE OF THESE AND SEEING WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THIS, SO I BEGAN MY CAREER STUDIES AND MAKING DRUGS WITH THE DISEASE AND LIVE OFFICE OF DIVERSITY A DRUG COURSE AND ON THE DISEASE. WHEN THEY LANDED OUT THE [INDISCERNIBLE] SO WE HAVE A [INDISCERNIBLE] OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, I REALIZE THAT I'M REALLY, REALLY LOVE THE BRAIN AS AN ORGAN AND I LOVE ALL THE THINGS THE BRAIN DID SO I SWITCHED. OKAY. SO I STARTED WORKING ON HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AND I WAS VERY DRAWN TO IT BECAUSE OF WHAT A TRAGIC DISEASE IT WAS AND THE WAY THAT IT REALLY SPEAKS FAMILIES AND--SEEKS FAMILIES AND GETS INTO THESE FAMILIES AND DOESN'T GO AWAY. SO IT'S AN AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT DISEASE WHICH HAS AN EXPANDED CHE AND WE HAVE YOU WONDERFUL RESEARCHERS THAT WORKED ON THIS GENE, THE GENE IS I.T. SUSTAINED AND WE HAVE THE LONGER WITH THE ONSET OF THE DISEASE. AND WHAT THIS DOES IN IT LEADS TO SLEEP OF MUNICIPALONAL AREAS OF THE STRIATUM AND CORTEX AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT MA MORPHOLOGY LATER ON BUT AT LEAST THAT PREVAL ANT AND [INDISCERNIBLE] AND IT OCCURS IN BOTH CULTURES AND GENDERS AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS RESEARCH, WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE ANY MAORI, THAT HAD HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND SO IT WAS A MOTIVE FROM COMING FROM DIABETES TO GO AND WORK ON A BRAIN DISEASE THAT WE DEPARTMENT KNOW IF IT WOULD BE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OR NOT. AND THE SYMPTOMS WHICH I'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT LATE OR INVOLVE WHAT IS THEY CALL A TRIAD OF SYMPTOMS, PERSONALITY MOVEMENT AND THINKING INVOLVED, AND THESE BASICALLY, WHAT'S VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THIS DISEASE IS THAT THE SYMPTOMS VARY WITHIN FAMILY. AT WHICH THESE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS TAKING PLACE AND AT THE MOMENT THESE [INDISCERNIBLE] WE DON'T REALLY KNOW THE MECHANISM OF WHAT'S GOING OSO WE DON'T REALLY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING BETWEEN THE GENE MAKING PEOPLE SICK AND KILLING OFF THE CELLS. SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE THIS, IS A BEAUTIFUL REVIEW BY CRIST TERROSS THAT CAME OUT RECENTLY IN THE MITOCHONDRIA, TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATIONS TAKING PLACE, THESE METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES. IF YOU PICK AN ORGAN NOW, THERE WILL BE A PROBLEM IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE, IT'S BASICALLY A DISEASE WE HAVE PEOPLE GETTING IN THERE, AND THESE ARE A LOT OFOXIDATIVE AND FUNCTION AND MANY NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND IT WAS REALLY THE DISEASE, PEOPLE GET [INDISCERNIBLE] SO IF WE LOOK AT DISEASE OF THE MORPHOLOGY, LOOKING AT THE BRAIN AND STRIATUM AND HEALTHY AS A LATERAL VENTRICLE,--OOPS SORRY. AND ALSO YOU'LL NOTE NATHE CORTEX IS REALLY QUITE THICK AND HEALTHY AND WHAT HAPPENS IN THE HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE BRAIN IS THE STRIATUM SHRINKS DOWN TO THESE AND SOME REPORTS IT'S 20% OF THE SIZE OF A HEALTHY STRIATUM WHICH IS A WHOLE LOT OF CELLS TO DIE AND AS A CONQUENCE THE VENTRICLE GETS QUITE LARGE AROUND THE OUTER CORTEX, THE LAYERS OF THE BRAIN THAT DO THE THINKING AND THERE ARE QUITE A FEW AREAS THAT OF EFFECTED IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND EARLY ON, IT GOES FROM DORSAL LATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX LOBE THROUGH TO THE FRONTAL CORTEX, AND DORSAL LATERAL TO VENTRAL AND THIS MEANS THAT AT FIRST THE GABBA MERGIC NEURONS, THESE ARE [INDISCERNIBLE] AND THEN LATER ON, IT'S THE INTERN ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS SUBSET OF THE PARTICULAR [INDISCERNIBLE] AND THIS IS SYMPTOMS OF HAVING THIS. SO THE CORTEX, THE [INDISCERNIBLE], THE HYPOTHALAMUS AND THALAMUS AND THE GROUP THAT I WAS WITH IN NEW ZEALAND AND CHID, AND LOOKING AT THE CORTEX AND CORRELATING THE SYMPTOMS FOR HURTING TON'S DISEASE SO THEY FOUND IN A BIT OF TOP RANGE WITH IT, THE RETROSPECTIVE SYMPTOMOLOGY THAT THE--AND SOME OF--HALF OF THE BRAINS GOT MAINLY THE OTHER SYMPTOMS AND THE OTHER HALF OF THE BRAINS GOT LOOSE. BECAUSE THEY FOUND THAT MAINLY IN THE CORTEX THOSE CELLS AND--OH YES, AND ALSO [INDISCERNIBLE] NEURONS AND INTERNEURONS [INDISCERNIBLE] WITH THE HUGE, HUGE, [INDISCERNIBLE]. AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF NEURONS ARE ACTUALLY WITH THE ACTIVITY OF THE SYMPTOMS. [INDISCERNIBLE] SO THESE ARE A LOT OF CELL TYPE [INDISCERNIBLE], AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT THE FEWER [INDISCERNIBLE] SO WHAT ABOUT THIS? IN THIS IS ABOUT SHOWING YOU WHAT THE COMPETENCIES ARE ABOUT? AND [INDISCERNIBLE] HAS A GROUP NATIONAL STUDY CALLED PREDICT HD, THAT'S BEEN FOLLOWING PATIENTS WITH PRESYMPTOMATIC AND USING THESE TO TRY AND SEE WHAT OTHER ARE THE MOST SENSITIVE PIECES TO BE ABLE TO PICK HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND THEY FOUND THAT EMOTIONAL REGULATION, TEMPORAL PROCESSING, ESPECIALLY PROCESSING, OLFACTION, MEMORY AND TEACHING VERY EARLY STAGE OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE SO THIS IS BEFORE ANYTHING IS REALLY DETECTABLE AND AN EMOTIONAL KIND OF [INDISCERNIBLE] AND ANY PSYCHIATRIC DOMAINS, THE FIRST OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND THEY'VE DONE QUITE WONDERFUL WORK USING STRUCTURAL MRI TO LINK AND THE MORPHOLOGY. SO WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT DHS IS THAT FOR HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE WE HAVE QUITE A FEW PROCESSES SUCH AS OLFACTION AND TEMPORAL PROCESSING, LIKE SLEEP WHICH ARE AFFECTED BY MANY, MANY NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES SO WE FEEL HOPEFUL IF WE CAN USE NEUROPLASTICKITY SYMPTOMS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK IN OTHER NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES TO SLOW DOWN THE PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASES. SO THIS IS A BIG LIST SHOWING YOU THAT THERE'S A HUGE LONG SYMPTOM PROFILE FOR PEOPLE WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE SO PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING PSYCHOLOGICAL THAT GOES WRONG CAN GO WRONG AND THE COGNITIVE DATA SETS, BOOST FOLLOWED BY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES AND NOT EVERYONE GETS MOVEMENT CHANGES BUT THOSE THAT DO OFTEN GET [INDISCERNIBLE] WHICH ARE INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS AND MANY OTHER THINGS SO I SUPPOSE WHAT THIS IS ABOUT IS KIND OF RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS A DISEASE IN MANY DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE BRAIN CAN DIE AND THERE ARE MANY, MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THIS DISEASE CAN MANIFEST. WELL IT'S PRETTY WELL KNOWN THERE WAS A STUDY DONE BY A HARVARD GROUP, AND MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL WHERE THEY HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE IN THE WORLD OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND IT WAS A FAMILY THAT DESCENDED FROM ONE WOMAN AND THERE WERE 20,000 OF THEM THAT LIVED AROUND THE LAKE AND THEY'RE THOUGHT TO BE [INDISCERNIBLE] WHICH IS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA, AND IT'S ALSO DOCUMENTED THAT AMONGST AUSTRALIAN ABNORMALITIESORIGEINALS THAT THEIR THIS MANY CASES OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AMONGST THESE PEOPLE ALTHOUGH NOBODY'S KIND OF DONE A STUDY AND WE DID SOME MATH AND WE FOUND THAT THE THERE'S SOME PREVENTIVE LANCE IN THE WORLD WIDE POPULATION. SO THIS IS VERY INTERESTING AND SO AND THIS IS A FAMILY FOR THE YEARS AND THIS GUY HERE WHO DID MY Ph.D. WITH WAS APPROACHED BY THE FAMILY AND NOW HE DOES A LOT OF PUBLIC TALKS BECAUSE SHE'S A BELIEVER IN THE PUBLIC SCIENCE AND WE HAVE TO GO, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO HIM AND THIS WAS OUR FIRST MEDING WITH THE JANUARY 2007 AND THEY WERE REALLY IN A REALLY BAD WAY. WE HAD PERMISSION TO USE THESE PHOTOS BUT SINCE IT'S GETTING PHOTOED, HYPERMISSION TO SHOW THE PHOTOS. SO THESE ARE IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM, THERE WAS NO SPECIALIST CARE IN THE AREA AND THEY WERE--WORKING WITH THE GTs WHO--I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SAY THAT, PRIMARY--THE PRACTITIONERS WHO DIDN'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE PRICE PIECES SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE AWARE BUT WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE THERE'S A BASIC RATE OF SUICIDE IN GENERAL BUT AT THE TIME OF DIAGNOSIS THAT GOES UP TO 22% FOR PEOPLE TO GET POSITIVE DIAGNOSIS AND AROUND 18-19% THOSE GET NEGATIVE DIAGNOSIS AND THERE'S A HIGH RISK OF SUICIDE WITH PEOPLE WITH HUNTINGS DISEASE AND THE GENERAL PRACTITIONERS WE'RE TAKING THE BLOOD AND SENDING THEM UP TO THE LAB AND SAYING OH, I'M SORRY HAVE YOU HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE. AND SO THERE WAS A HUGE RISK IN THIS COMMUNITY OF SOMEBODY KILLING THEMSELVES FROM GETTING THAT DIAGNOSIS. AND SHE GOT THIS DIAGNOSIS FROM THE DOCTOR AND THEY TOLD HER TO COME G HOME AND TELL HER FAMILY, AND SO SHE HELD A FAMILY METING AND SHE SAID I HAVE THIS DEC AND YOU SHOULD ALL GET TESTED. THE FAMILY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. THEY'VE BEEN CALLED A GROUP OF CLINEITIONS TO COME AND TALK TO THEM AND THE GENETICIST THAT SPOKE TO THEM USED BIG WORDS AND CONFUSED THEM SO BY THIS TIME, THE DIAGNOSIS HAD BEEN SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS SENSE THE AUNTIE GOT THE FIRST DIAGNOSE AND I GUESS THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY WHO WERE STARTING TO SHOW SYMPTOMS AND HAD [INDISCERNIBLE]. THEY HAD BEEN RATING THIS AND YOU KNOW IT WAS KIND OF SCARY FOR THEM SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE WENT IN THERE AND WE TALKED TO THEM ABOUT WHAT HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE WAS AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE GENETICS OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND HOW THEY GOT IT. THEY HAD AN UNDERSTAND THAT THE FATHER HAD HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND THAT'S HOW THEY GOT IT BECAUSE THEY MISS DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND MUCH ABOUT THE SYMPTOM PROFILE AND THE FIRST PERSON TO HAVE THE DISEASE WAS SIGNIFY COT KICK AT T BEGINNING AND SHE HAD A LOT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND SO, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE REALLY QUITE AFFRAY FRAYED BECAUSE THEY WERE LOOKING AT ANTIAND SAYING OH DEAR IS THAT HOW I WILL TURN OUT. SO SO WE IN AND WE BASICALLY JUST TALKED TO THEM. AND WE FOUND OUT, THERE WERE 16 CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY, AND FIRST GENERATION, THERE WERE FIVE GENERATIONS OF THEM AND I MEAN, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY PRETTY GOOD AT MATH BUT I'M IN A ROOM FULL OF SCIENTISTS SO YOU DO THE MATH, 16 CHILDREN HAD FOUR-SIX CHILDREN AND MOST OF THEM HAD TWO OR THREE TO FOUR CHILDREN AGE AND THE MOST, YOU KNOW IT KEEPS GOING ON AND ON AND ON. SO I HAD BIG FAMILIES THAT HAS TO DO WITH OUR CULTURE AND SO, IT WAS REALLY A BIG FAMILY THAT THAT WE'RE REALLY, REALLY AFRAID. SO WHAT DID WE DO? SO THE REALIZE IS THAT--THESE YEARS IN IN COMMUNITY AND THE PLASTICITY PROJECT I'M TELLING YOU ABOUT TODAY IS A SCIENTIFIC PROJECT THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THEM. SO WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FUND CLINICAL CLINICIANS TO GO AND TO PROVIDE KEY TO THE ISSUE, AND MUCH OF THE ISSUE WAS THEY WOULD NOT GET SPECIALISTS AND THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE. JUST DOG A LOT OF GENOME LEARNING PRACTICES TEACHING THEM. ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE IS ANXIOUS SO THEY HAD REALLY GOOD STRUCTURED ROUTINES TO TAKE AWAY THE ANXIOUS AND SHE DID A LOT OF THOSE THINGS AND HE GOT THEM SLEEPING AND THINGS LIKE THAT SO WHEN I FINISHED MY Ph.D., I SAY TO THIS FAMILY, I WILL WORK WITH YOU GIVING--YOUS GUYS, I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT I WILL WORK WITH YOU. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF SCIENCE WE DID WHEN THEY FIRST ASKED TO WORK CAN US. THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS PART [INDISCERNIBLE] AND THEN GROWING SOUTH FROM THEM OR LOOKING AT POSTMORTEM BRAINS OR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE Y WE GOT SICK, SO THE PROJECT WE DID FOR THE POST DOC WAS EFFECTS AND CLINICAL PROJECT AROUND JUST TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY AND SAYING, HEY THIS IS THE THAT WERE WE DO, DID YOU THEN IS WHAT WE GET TO DO, DO YOU STILL WANT TO WORK WITH US? AND THEY DIDN'T BE THAT WAS THE WORK THAT WE DID SO IT WAS VERY INTERESTING. AND THEN DOING WORK AND SAYING, OKAY, WE WANT TO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP TO YOU SO THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO US AND THESE ARE THE THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK WITHURE COMMUNITY, TO WORK WITH YOUR COMMUNITY TO HAVE A TRUE PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU AND AGREE ON WHAT THE QUESTIONS ARE THAT ARE APPROPRIATE THAT WE CAN ASK AND THEN WE NEED TO AGREEN CELLS ON WHAT SORT OF METHODS WE CAN USE SO CAN WE TAKE BLOOD. WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT BRAINS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE--WHAT'S THE WORD CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE AROUND THAT ASK AND I'LL EXPLAIN THAT LATER BUT WE HAVE ACTUALLY HAD A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WITH HUNTINGT'S DISEASE TELL US SHE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE US HER BRAIN WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT SCARY BUT PART OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAVE TO DEVELOP THESE THAT WE HAD TO. SO THE PARTNERSHIP WAS ABOUT ASKING EACH OTHER WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE? WHAT HAPPEN FIST WE HAVE ISSUES? BECAUSE WE'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS HOW DO WE HAVE A CONVERSATION IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG AND IS IT TUNED OUT, RESPECT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO THEM. SO BEING RESPECTED BUT RESPECTING US AS WELL AND ALSO CULTURAL PRACTICES SO KNOWING WHO AND WHAT BIG CULTERAL PRACTICES WAS IMPORTANT AND IT WAS KIND OF IMPORTANT THAT ALTHOUGH THEY'RE FROM A DIFFERENT TRIBE, THEY HAD SIMILAR CULTURAL PRACTICES SO I WAS ABLE TO DO WORK WITH OUR CLINICIANS TO TEACH THEM ABOUT THE SERUMS THEY NEEDED TO DO IN ORDER TO GO INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES AND THAT SOME OF THE PRACTICES WE DO AROUND THE CLINICAL SERUM IS REALLY AROUND PABLY BEING A LOT LEAST FORMAL THAN YOU ARE IN A CLINIC SO I OFTEN TAKE THE PSYCHIATRIST AND THE PSYCHIATRIC NEWS IN THESE COMMUNITIES AND THEY NAVIGATED THE MOUNTAIN O THEY DRIVE AROUND AND VISIT THE WALL AND CUP OF TEA AND BISCUITS AND WE TALK TO THEM AND LEARN ABOUT THEM AND IN THE PROCESS OUR CLINICIANS ALSO TALK CLINICALLY WITH THEM. CAN IT WAS ABOUT USING THESE, SO YOU HAVE TO TALK TO ASK PEOPLE IF YOU COULD TOUCH THEM AND HEAR THEM TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT AND IF IT'S WHY AND IT'S IMPORTANT IN AN EXAMINATION PROCESS AND WE TAKE OUR SHOES OFF WHEN WE GO INTO HOUSES BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF OUR CULTURAL PRACTICES. WE ALWAYS TAKE FOOD AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW WITH NIH, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE DO BECAUSE IT'S A CUSTOMARY PRACTICE THAT WE DO, SO WE NEVER GO EMPTY HANDED. SO PART OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE DO USING THE CULTURE IS THAT WE NEVER GO EMPTY HANDED SO WE TAKE FOOD AND YEAH, IT'S PROBABLY SEEMS LIKE WE'RE NOT DOING RESEARCH BUT WE ARE, I PROMISE. AND THEN WE KIND OF REALIZE THAT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WAS LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM IDEAS SO THE JUDGED IS THE RESEARCH AND THEY--THAT THEY PUT OUT WHEN THEY GOT THIS INTERRESEARCH WORK THAT THEY WANTED TO DO RESEARCH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, AND WE ARE TAKE BEING ON THAT VISION AND WE WANT TO DO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH THAT CHANGES THE WORK. AND IN PARTICULAR THEY CHANGE THE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND THIS IS QUITE HARD BECAUSE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE IT TAKE ACE LONG TIME LIKE, YOU KNOW YOU START DEVELOPING THE DRUG AND YOU DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO BE WORKING FOR 20 OR 30 YEARS. SO WE'VE TAKEN A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH, WE WANT TO HAVE SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS AND THE SHORT-TERM WORK IS ABOUT PROVIDING PRACTICAL CLINICAL CARE TO THESE COMMUNITIES SO THAT THEY ARE BEING LOOKED AFTER AND THEY HAD IMMEDIATE BENEFITS FROM THE WORK AND THEN LOOKING AT THE LONG-TERM KIND OF RESEARCH THAT WE CAN DO WITH THEM. AND THESE COMMUNITIES ARE SAYING TO US, WELL BOTH OF THESE TYPES OF RESEARCH GIVE US HOPE. WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE PRETTY SURE OF TO BE QUITE HONEST SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE AGREED ABOUT DURING MY POST DOC WAS THAT WE WOULD WORK TOGETHER TO GIVE THE DEVELOPING TREATMENTS AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE BUT WE MEET WITH THEM EVERY YEAR AND TALK ABOUT THE RESEARCHERS WE'VE DONE OVER THE PAST YEAR AND WE'RE JUST GOING AND WHAT INVOLVEMENT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. SO MY NEXT PRESENTATION WILL BE ABOUT THE COLLABORATIVE WORK. SO THESE ARE PRIMARY HUMAN BRAIN DERIVED CELLS, THEY'RE PAIR CELLS SO THEY'RE FIBROBLAST LIKE AND I BASICALLY SPENT MY Ph.D. LEARNING TO GROW THESE SO WE ASK THE QUESTION, CAN WE INDUCE THESE CELLS AND INDUCE A HUNTINGTON'S LIKE PHENOTYPE AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO AND I SPENT A YEAR FIGURING THAT OUT AND THEN, SO THEN I ASKED, WE HAD POSTMORTEM BRAINS CAN WE NOT TRY AND GROW CELLS FROM THE POSTMORTEM BRAINS AND IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE WHILE IT WAS QUITE HARD WORK, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY SO I GREW 33 OF THESE CULTURES, THIS IS A NORMAL CULTURE, I'LL JUST PLAY AGAIN TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THESE CELL SEM THEY'RE MOVING AROUND QUITE QUICKLY SO THIS IS A PHOTOTHAT'S TAKEN EVERY HALF HOUR OR 48 HOURS AND THEN PLACE IT TOGETHER INTEREST A MOVIE. AND YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE LOVELY BRIGHT CELLS DIVIDE QUITE BEAUTIFULLY AND THEY MOVE AROUND SO THEY'RE HEALTHY AND THEY HAVE A GREAT METABOLISM. WHERE THESE ARE HUNTINGTON CELLS AND YOU NOTICE THESE CELLS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY'VE BEEN PLATED THE SAME DENSITY. THESE ARE MOST RECENTLY COMPROMISED AND IN FACT, I MANAGED TO GROW CELLS FROM I THINK IT WAS FIVE DIFFERENT DISEASES SO I DID MOTOR NEURONS HUNTINGTON'S PARKINSON'S, ALZHEIMERS AND WE HAD ONE FINAL ATAXIA, AND I MEAN BECAUSE BASICALLY ANYTIME THE BRAIN CAME AND THERE WAS TISSUE BEHIND IT, I JUST GREW IT SO ALL OF THE Ph.D., I DEVELOPED THIS RESEARCH WHICH ACTUALLY, THIS IS TWO YEARS WORTH OF WORK OF JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE RIGHT CONDITIONS WERE, WHAT THE RIGHT ENZYMES WERE, HOW MUCH IT WAS, HOW MUCH WASN'T ENOUGH, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE OPTIMAL GROWTH CONDITIONS WILL BE CELLS TO USE THEM AS A MODEL OR A NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE AND OF COURSE WE WERE THINKING THAT WHAT WE WOULD DO IS [INDISCERNIBLE] DRUGS ON THEM. IT WAS AN ISSUE THAT CAME UP WITH THIS AND IT WAS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE LATE OR WHEN I WAS TALKING TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES ABOUT THE WORK I WAS DOING, I HAD A WONDERFUL [INDISCERNIBLE] THAT CAPTURED IT FOR ME. SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS WHEN SOMEBODY HAS HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND THEY ARE ALIVE AND THE BRAINS THESE CELLS ARE DYING? I'M LIKE [INDISCERNIBLE]. BUT THEN THEY DIE AND THEY GIVE YOU THE THEIR BRAIN AND THEN [INDISCERNIBLE] BUT THE BRAIN CELLS ARE ALIVE. AND I REMEMBER BEING LIKE, YES, THAT'S WHAT I'MTALING YOU, SO THAT WAS AN ISSUE FOR ME AS A MAORI, DOING THIS WORK BECAUSE THE BRAIN IS RESTRICTED. HE KNEW IT WAS SACRED AND HAD TO BE HELD IN THE HIGHEST REGARD. THE OLD DAYS YOU COULD NOT TOUCH THE HEAD, WE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY KNOWING THAT IT'S SACRED, SO THEY PUT ON THE CLOTHES, WE MET ANDATE EUROPEAN FOOD AND DEEP INSIDE WE ARE MAORI AT HEART AND THE IT STAYS WITH US WHATEVER, HE WAS SAYING IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE WORLD DOES AROUND US OR WITH US BUT THE SACRED ALWAYS STAYS WITH US. SO WHAT I NEEDED TO DO IS I NEEDED TO GO AND I NEED TO TALK TO MY COMMUNITY ABOUT THE WORK THAT I WAS DOING AND ASK THEM, BECAUSE HE SAID, YOU DON'T WANT YOUR UNCLES TO TUNE UPA AT A MEETING AND COME UP AND SAY, IS THAT YOUR BASE THAT'S WORKING WITH THE--YOU KNOW--KIND OF THING SORY REALIZE THAT WAS VERY WISE AND SO WE--MY UNCLE TOMMY IS NOT IN THAT PICTURE AND HE'S SORT OF LIKE OUR CHIEF AND TALK TO HIM AND ASK HIM FOR PERMISSION AND HE WAS QUITE BEAUTIFUL BUT HE SAID TO ME, I WILL GIVE YOU MY PERMISSION BUT IT'S NOT MY PERMISSION THAT MATTERS. WE HAVE TO TAKE IT TO THE PEOPLE AND ASK THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY THINK. SO I WENT BACK TO THE UNIVERSITY AND I SAID TO MY Ph.D. SUPERVISORS, MY UNCLE SAYS IT'S OKAY BUT WE HAVE TO GO GO BACK AND ASK EVERYBODY AND THEY WERE REALLY QUITE WONDERFUL. SO THIS IS PROBABLY HALF THE PEOPLE THAT TUNED TAUPE DAY. WE HAD A FULL DAY SO WE ARRIVED AT ABOUT 10:00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING AND WE WE HAD CONVERSATIONS ALL DAY ABOUT THE SCIENCE, ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL IDEAS BEHIND IT, THERE WAS A BEAUTIFULLA LADY HERE, WHO'S HUSBAND HAD HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE SHE IS MAORI AND HE WAS A WHITE MAN BUT THEY GAVE HIS BRAIN TO US. WHICH WAS VERY SPECIAL BECAUSE THEY WERE MAORI, SO SHE TALKED ABOUT OUR RESEARCH GAVE HIM HOPE. SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW HUNTINGTON'S WAS A FAMILY DISEASE AND THAT REALLY GOT MY FAMILY--BECAUSE FOR MAORI, FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. IT'S IT IS CENTER OF ALL OUR COSMOLOGY, AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE FOR MAORI. SO MY FAMILY AND MY TRIBE WERE ABLE TO BED THAT THE WERE THAT WE'RE DOING WAS ABOUT HELPING FAMILY, AND IT WAS ABOUT KIND OF HELPING PEOPLE TO HEAL AND GET BETTER SO THEY AGREED IT WAS GOOD RESEARCH THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO SUPPORT BUT THEY ALSO SEE THEY WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THAT WE HAD RESPONSIBILITY AS WHAT WE CALL [INDISCERNIBLE] WHICH IS GUARDIANS OF THE TISSUE THAT PEOPLE GAVE US AND THAT WE NEEDED TO TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY SO WE ALREADY HAD A LOT OF WONDERFUL PROCESSES IN OUR LAB THAT WAS ABOUT BEING RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE TISSUE SO WHEN WE FINISHED, WE CREAM ATE IT AND IT'S RETURNED TO THE EARTH AND THEN IT'S DONE WITH THE FAMILIES WHO DONATED THE TISSUE. SO WHAT THEY SAY TO US IS THAT WE NEEDED TO TAKE OUR RESPONSIBILITY VERY SERIOUSLY AND THEY WANTED US TO DO THE RESEARCH AND ONE IS CALLED [INDISCERNIBLE]. SO THEY WANTEDITOUS USE SERUM IN THE WAY THAT WE DID RESEARCH WHICH I THOUGHT WAS GREAT, SO I WAS LIKE, OKAY, WE'RE ONBOARD HOW DO WE DO THIS? AND THEY SAID WE DON'T KNOW. YOU HAVE TO GO--YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR MERMISSION WHO MIGHT BE THINK KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THIS SERUM, TO ASK WHAT THIS MIGHT BE. SO THAT'S KIND OF--WE HAD TO DEVELOP THE SERUM AND USE THE LABORATORY TO INSURE WE'RE DOING CULTURALLY SAFE ASK RESPECTFUL SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES AND THE MAIN PART WAS ABOUT ACKNOWLEDGES THE SACREDNESS BUT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING SPIRIT AND I WAS VERY LUCKY AND I WENT TO MEET LOTS OF PEOPLE, I FOUND OUT A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT THE BREAK SO I NEW THAT THE WORD [INDISCERNIBLE] WAS ABOUT SACRED AND RESTRICTED. SO THINGS ARE SACRED BUT THEN THEY'RE RESTRICTED AS A CONSEQUENCE AND THIS IDEA ABOUT [INDISCERNIBLE] WASN'T JUST ABOUT THE BRAIN BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT HOUSE AND THINGS YOU WERE ABLE TO TOUCH IN THE COMMUNITY THAT HAD TO DO WITH THOSE THINGS. AND THEN THE MAORI WORLD VIEWS, WE BELIEVE THERE IS CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLD SO THAT YOU CAN'T SEPARATE THOSE TWO THINGS. AND THAT THE BRAIN, THE WORD FOR THE BRAIN MEAN ITS COMES FROM THE HIGHEST REALM AND THE REALM OF THE [INDISCERNIBLE] WHICH IS OUR HIGHEST KIND OF GOD AND THE REAL REASON FOR THE BRAIN IS BEING SACRED BUT THAT IN MAORI, IT IS THE PLACE OF THE MIND, SPIRIT, LIFE FORCE AND THE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY. SO IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A R REALLY IMPORTANT PLACE WITH ALL THESE THINGS CAME TOGETHER. AND THEN IT WAS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE AS I TRAVELED THROUGH THE STATES AT THE END OF MY Ph.D., I WAS TOLD BY A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN THAT T HAD A SIMILAR STORY IN THE COSMOLOGY THAT WAS ABOUT THE DAUGHTER OF THE SKY WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY AND ALL OF THE PLANTS AND THE MIRACLES GREW FROM HERE SO WE KNOW THAT THE BRAIN IS SACRED FOR US BECAUSE THE MOST SAN FRANCISCO KRE TINS PLANT THE TOBACCO GREW FROM THE DAUGHTER OF SKY WOMAN, AND THIS IS OUR BELIEF AND I ALSO HAVE BEEN TOLD BY PEOPLE WHO ARE EAST INDIAN THAT THE HEAT IS VERY IS KRED FOR THEM. SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S COMMON AMONGST MANY CULTURES THAT THE BRAIN HAS SPECIAL SACRED PROPERTIES AND SO WE LOSE KNEW THAT THE BRAIN WAS SPECIAL BUT THEN WE HAD [INDISCERNIBLE]. AND THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN HERE, I NEVER MET HER BEFORE IN MY LIFE AND I WAS GOING AROUND TO ALEGORITHMSES AND OF COURSE TEY LEARN ABOUT THE SACRED AND I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE BRAIN, CAN YOU TELL ME AND MANY OF THEM SAID NO, WE DONE KNOW ABOUT THIS, BUT HOPEFULLY ABOUT 10 OF THEM SAY TO ME, YOU NEED TO FIND A WOMAN CALLED [INDISCERNIBLE] BECAUSE SHE WILL KNOW, SHE IS THE MANAGER FOR THE LARGEST HOSPITAL IN NEW ZEALAND THERE AND SHE LOOKS AFTER 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE AND SHE'S DEVELOPED A LOT OF CLINICAL PROTOCOL AT THAT HOSPITAL WHICH HAS BEEN QUITE GREAT. SO THE PROTOCOL. SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE WERE TOLD TO DO WAS TO LOOK FOR CULTURAL PRECEDENCE, LIKE WERE THERE ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WITHIN TRADITION HUMAN TISSUE HAD BEEN USE INDEED A POSITIVE WAY AND WE FOUND [INDISCERNIBLE] WHO WAS THE GRANDMOTHER OF MAORI, CULTURAL HERO, HE USED HER JAW BORN TO [INDISCERNIBLE] WITH THE NORTH ISLAND AND SLOW DOWN SUN SO THERE WAS VERY CULTURAL PRECEDENCE IN USING THIS HUMAN PART TO DO GREAT DEEDS WITHIN OUR CULTURE SO THIS WAS THERE WAS A PRECEDENT TO SAY HUMAN TISSUE HAS BEEN USED IN A POSITIVE WAY BEFORE. BUT THEN THEY TOLD ME THAT BEAUTIFUL STORY ABOUT A MAN WHO HAD A LUNG TRANSPLANT AND THIS IS THE BASIS OF WHERE OUR CEREMONY CAME FROM SO WHAT SHE TOLD US ABOUT WAS THAT THERE WAS THIS MAN AND IT HAD A PERFECT LUNG TRANSPLANT, EVERYTHING HAD GONE PERFECTLY. HE WAS REJECTING HIS LUNG, HE WAS MAORI AND AND THE DOCTORS CAME TO SEE HIM AND HE HAD A PERFECT OPERATION BUT FOR SOME REASON THAT THEY'RE REJECTING HISLING LUNGS. IS THERE SOMETHING CAN YOU VISIT HIM. AND SHE SAID HAVE YOU HAD A [INDISCERNIBLE]--HAVE YOU THANKED THEM FOR THE JOB THEY DID AND DID YOU SAY GOODBYE TO THEM AND WISHED THEM ON THEIR WAY. AND HE SAID NO I HAVEN'T. SHE SAID HAVE YOU HAD A TRADITIONAL WELCOMING CEREMONY TO WELCOME THE NEW LUNGS INTO YOUR BODY AND WELCOME THEM TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING THAT EXISTED WITHOUT THEM AND IN MAORI CULTURE WE HAVE A CEREMONY THAT ARE [INDISCERNIBLE] SHE SHE WENT TO THE PROCESS OF FAREWELLING HIS OLD LUNGS AND THANKING THEM FOR THE JOB THEY HAD DONE AND WELCOMING THE NEW LUNGS AND ACTHINK KNOWLEDGING THEM AS PART OF HIS BODY AND SHE SAID I DON'T KNOW IF WAS SPIRIT OR GOD OR JUST THE FACT THAT THIS MAN NEEDED COMFORT OUTER TAG IT WAS ALREADY THAL PROCESS WAS TAKING PLACE IN HIS BODY, BUT HE GOT WELL AND HE LEFT THE HOSPITALS ABOUT TWO DAYS LATER AND SHE SAID ACTUALLY I DON'T REALLY NEED TO KNOW IS PEOPLE THAT DO CEREMONY DON'T KNOW TO DO WHAT IT IS, SOMETIMES JUST DOG THE CEREMONY HELPS. SO I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS WAS THE SAME CEREMONY I NEEDED TO DO WITH THE HUMAN BRAIN TISSUE THAT I WAS WORKING WITH: SO WHAT WE DEVELOPED WAS A PROCESS OF THE [INDISCERNIBLE] WHO HAD DIED AND RECOGNIZING THE TISSUE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH FROM HUMAN ANDINATE AND YOU ARE IT CAME FROM A PERSON AND WHEN WE GET THE TISSUE BETWEEN SIX-12 HOURS AFTER SOMEBODY HAD DIED THAT YOU KNOW THE FAMILY WAS STILL SIT NOTHING QUITE A BIT OF GREAT, ABOUT ACKNOWLEDGING THE PERSON WHO HAD GIVEN US THE GIFT OF THE BRAIN FOR OUR RESEARCH AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE GRACE THAT THEIR FAMILY WAS GOING THROUGH AND ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE CELLS WE WERE GOING TO BE GROWING FROM THE BRAIN HAD RELATIONSHIPS, EXTENDED OUT FROM THEM THAT WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THEN THE--THE WELCOMING PART WAS ABOUT WELCOMING THE TISSUE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE IN SOMEBODY'S HEAD BUT THEY WERE GOING TO BE IN A TISSUE, HELPING US DO OUR RESEARCH AND SO, THEY USED TO TELL ME--I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME SO I NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS SOEE USE THIS TIME BOTH IN THE LAB AND IN THE CLINE CLINEEC AND I REMEMBER THEM SAYING, [INDISCERNIBLE] AND PRAYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAB AND I SAID YES, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DO. BUT USUALLY I WOULD WAIT UNTIL THERE'S NO ONE AROUND SO I WOULD LOOK LIKE THE FRUIT CAKE IN THE CORNER DOING THAT BUT THAT IS WHAT WE DO. SO THEN, SO THIS IS JUST THE SLIDE, BASICALLY SHOWING THAT FOR 21 YEARS WE HAVE KNOWN THE GENE FOR HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND WE FOLLOWED A SINGLE PASSION OF DEVELOPING TRANSGENIC AND CHEMICALLY INDUCED MODELS AND THEY'RE MAKING DRUGS TO THEM, 16 OF THEM HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND REACHED HUMAN TRANSLATION AND NONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE THE DISEASE PROCESS AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO TREATMENTS IN THE LAST 21 YEARS FOR THE DRUG BASE THAT'S BEEN IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE SO WE COME TO THE WORK THAT I'M DOING NOW AND I'M VERY SORRY IT'S TAKEN MOO I A WHILE TO GET HERE BUT BASICALLY I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU IT'S BECAUSE I'M BRILLIANT AND [INDISCERNIBLE] AND WRITE ABOUT THEM BUT REALLY IT WAS BECAUSE I HAD THIS WONDERFUL FRIEND WHO GAVE ME THIS BOOK AND SHE SAID I'M LOVE THANKSGIVING BOOK AND I WANT TO USE IT BUT IT IS DON'T KNOW IF IT'S KOSHER OR NOT, AND I WANT TO READ THIS AND GIVE IT AS BASE RESEARCH AND CHAPTER THREE WAS ABOUT MIKE [INDISCERNIBLE] AND THE WORK HE'S PREVIOUSLY DONE IN MONKEYS SHOWING THAT THE NEUROPLASTICKITY VERY MANY YEARS AGO AND ALSO SHOWING WORK HE'S DONE MORE RECENTLY HELPING FIVE MILLION PEOPLE WITH READING DISABILITIES USING BRAIN TRAINING TO TRAIN THE AUDITORY CORTEX, TO BECOME FUNCTIONAL IN THE READING PROCESS SO I LOOKED AT THE RESEARCH AND I THOUGHT WOW THIS IS INCREDIBLE RESEARCH. I WONDER IF WE CAN DO IT WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND SO I CAME UP WITH A HYPOTHESIS THAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEURONAL CELL BY PROVIDING FUNCTIONAL INPUT THAT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO STIMULATE NEURAL NETWORKS THAT BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL AND HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND THEN SOMEHOW, I BROUGHT HOME [INDISCERNIBLE] WHO SAID YOU MIGHT WANT TO WORK WITH ME ON HYPOTHESIS AND HE SAID YES, HE LIKED THE IDEA AND SO THERE'S SO MANY QUESTIONS WE HAVE TO S SO MANY RESEARCH QUESTIONS, I THINK THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE REALLY READY TO ANSWER FOR QUITE SOMETIME BUT SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN IS ABOUT ASKING, IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO FUNCTIONAL PATHWAYS AND HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND COGNITIVE TRAINING THAT HARNESSS NEURIE PLASTICITY, AND ALL THE BRAIN TRAINING HAVE AN EFFECT IN THE PRESYMPTOMATIC AND HUNTINGTON'S PATIENTS AND SLOW FOR NEURONAL CELLS AND STIMULATING NEUROGENIC PROCESSES BY THAT ARE KNOWN TO BE UPREGULATED SO THERE'S A GUY WHO WAS PETERRERIC SON STUDYING NEUROGENESIS AND HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE BRAIN AND THEY BASICALLY SHOWED THAT AN ATTEMPT, PEOPLE WITH HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE THEY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE AND THEY'RE BORN AND THEY'RE TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING IS, CAN WE USE NEUROPLASTICKITY TO TRY AND INTEGRATE SOME OF THESE CELLS OR PERHAPS TO INCREASE THE NEUROGENIC PROCESSES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE AND THEN OF COURSE, CAN WE USE THE TRAINING TO PREVENT SYMPTOMS FROM HAPPENING WITH THE COMPONENTS OF MOTOR FUNCTIONING AND THIS HAS BEEN A VERY INTERESTING QUESTION THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING TO LOTS OF LOVELY PEOPLE FROM NIH ABOUT, AND THEY'VE TOLD ME, YES IT IS POSSIBLE. SO WHICH MADE ME VERY EXCITED. SO WHAT OF NEUROPLASTICKITY. SO IT'S ABOUT THE BRAIN'S EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TO CHANGE AND REORGANIZE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION CAN CONNECTION AND RESPONSE TO INPUT. SO IT'S QUITE WONDERFUL. IT'S ABOUT THE FACT THAT STRUCTURE, THE TUNE AND FUNCTION, BUT IF YOU PUT THE RIGHT FUNCTIONS IN THE RIGHT PLACE, FUNCTION CAN ALSO CHANGE STRUCTURE AND DHS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. SO IT'S BEEN A HUGE PATHWAY GIVESSA DIME SHIFT WHEN I WAS A STUDENT AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, I WAS TOLD THAT ONCE YOU TURN 18 IT WAS ALL DOWN HILL FROM THERE. YOUR BRAIN SELLS WILL DIE AND THERE NOTHING GETS CLEARER AND WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT BECAUSE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO LEARN THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE. SO IT'S FASCINATING THESE THIS BEEN A SHIFT. THEY TALK ABOUT THE LAW OF NEURONS AND THIS IS BASICALLY THE PRINCIPLE OF NEUROPLASTICKITY WITH THE THERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS YOU FIGURE OUT THEM TOGETHER I'LL GO THROUGH SOME STUFF BECAUSE I'M BEING TOLD THAT I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME. THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE DO IN THE BRAIN TRAINING, WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE PRIME THE SYSTEM WITH ASIT OLDER PEOPLE CO LINE AND THIS IS THROUGH USING INTENTIONAL PEAKS AND EXERCISES AND THIS IS THAT THE CO LINE AND THIS IS MEMORY FORMATION AND IN PARTICULAR, IT'S ABOUT THE FOCUSING EFFECT AND ALSO IMPROVING THE SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO OF THE CHANGES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE. I KNOW THERE'S BEEN WONDERFUL RESEARCH DONE AND THIS IS THE NEWT ROUGH ATOM TROPEIC FACTOR WHICH IS THE KEY MEDIATOR OF THE NEUROPLASTICKITY AND THE DENDRITIC DIMERIZATION AND THIS THERAPIST IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED SO I'M VERY INTERESTED TO KNOW THESE BECOME REENGAGED IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE WHEN WE DO OUR NEURAL PLASTICITY RESEARCH. AND I JUST QUICKLY WANT TO SHOW YOU A FEW OF OUR EXERCISES SO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT THIS IS SUCH WORK THAT WE DO, HIMY WHOLE RESEARCH TEAM I HAD MY WHOLE RESEARCH TEAM DOING BRAIN TRAINING AND SO I HAVE BRAIN TRAINING AS WELL AND WE'RE ALL COMPETING APPROXIMATE EACH OTHER AND WHAT IT'S ABOUT IS I MEAN IT TAKES BETWEEN TWO TO FOUR WEEKS TO ENGABLING IN THE CHANGES TO TAKE PLACE SO IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING AND ONLY ONE OF THOSE CARDS WILL SHOW AND THEY HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THESE AND WATCH THOSE AND THEN, AS THIS GETS HARDER AND HARDER, THE CAR AND THE [INDISCERNIBLE] SHOW UP LIKE 50 MILLISECONDS SO THAT'S ONE OF THEM AND THAT DOES TRAINING SO SOME VISUAL MEMORY AND THIS ONE AND WHAT THIS IS ABOUT IS, SO IN THE MIDDLE--I HAVE TO NOT PRESS THE BUTTON. IT SOUNDS REALLY SIMPLE AND UP AND TRAINING FOR A LONG TIME SO IT FLICKS OUT FOR A LITTLE AMOUNT OF TIME AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION SO EVERY NOW AND THEN, IT'S A CRAZY FACE THAT POPS UP LIKE THAT ONE AND THAT'S ABOUT GIVING YOU A SHOT. SO I GOT IT WRONG. AND I WILL KEEP GETTING IT WRONG AND IT WILL SHOW YOU THIS, CRAZY ONE, THIS IS ONE THAT I'M NOT GOOD AT SO YOU'LL HAVE TO EXCUSE ME. SO WHAT HAPPENS IT WILL SAY FOUR DIFFERENT WORDS, SOME OF THEM MAKE SENSE AND SOME DON'T AND THEN I HAVE TO BASICALLY FIND THEM AGAIN IN THE RIGHT ORDER. SO IT'S ABOUT MY AUTO-TRIMMING RATE. LET'S SEE IF THIS WORKS. >> MAT, RIB, CAN, BADGE, CAN. >> AND DO YOU IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE AND IT'S QUITE HARD. SO THOSE ARE THE SORTS OF TRAINING THINGS WE DO AND I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME SO I WILL MOVE ON. SORRY. SO, I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT THE EVIDENCE BASED RESEARCH, BUT BASICALLY THERE'S BEEN A LARGE TRIAL DONE CALLED THE ACTIVE TRIAL, WORKING WITH OLDER ADULTS THAT HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN YOU DO SPEED OF PROCESSING, COGNITIVE TRAINING, THERE IS--THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE EQUALITY OF LIFE AND IT LASTS FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND THAT ONE OF THE FIVE SETS OF THE STUDY WHEN I THOUGHT IT WAS INCREDIBLE BUT THE OBJECT OF THE STUDY WAS A DECREASE AND DEPRESSION AND POPULATION SO IT'S QUITE WONDERFUL. AND IF THERE ARE ANY PSYCHIATRISTS MOOK US THEY WOULD TELL US THAT IT'S AN IMPORTANT, AND RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT NOT ONLY DO YOU SEE IMPROVED COGNITION AND THIS ISN'T ONLY SHOWN IN SCHIZOPHRENICS BUT AFTER 60 HOURS WITH THE TRAINING THERE'S ALSO GREATER PRESERVATION OF GREATER VOLUME IN THE TRAINERS VERSES PLACEBOS WHICH IS QUITE WONDERFUL IN TERMS OF THE HOPE THAT WE HAVE OR NEUROPROTECTIVE TREATMENTS THAT ARE NEUROPLASTICKITY AND NEUROPLASTIC AND THE ADVICES AND THE--BUT FINALLY THAT THESE HAVE BEEN RESEARCH DON THAT'S SHOWN THAT COGNITIVE TRAINING CROSSES OVER THE MOTOR DOMAIN AND SOME OF YOUR WONDERFUL TOP NEUROLOGISTS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS AND THOUGHT THIS IS ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE. THIS IS VERY EXCITING IN TERMS OF HOW THIS MIGHT BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE OR THE TREATMENT AND SO THE WORK THAT I'M DOING IS REALLY AROUND USING THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING, AND BRAIN PLASTICITY FOR TRAINING PROGRAM SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SPENDING MY FULL BRIGHT FELLOWSHIP DOING AND THIS HAS BEEN GREAT. 'S HELPED ME WITH ALL OF HIS EXPERTISE AND WITH ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN HIS LAB TO HELP ME WITH THIS. AND SO, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS IT'S A HUNDRED HOURS TOTAL TRAIN CHICAGO IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST NEURONAL PLASTICITY TRAINING THAT WE'VE EVER HAD BUT IT WAS VERY FUNNY, OUR CLINICIANS WE DON'T THINK THAT 20 WEEK SYSTEM LONG ENOUGH, WE DON'T THINK THAT--THEY DON'T THINK 40 WEEK SYSTEM LONG ENOUGH, MY CLINICIANS WANTED US TO TRAIN AND THEY SAID NO, IT'S ALL RIGHT, A HUNDRED HOURS WILL BE ENOUGH AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH ALL MAORI, PRESYMPTOMATIC HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND EITHER IT BE BROTHERS, SISTERS, COUSINS THAT ARE UNAFFECTED AND FIXED MATCH AND ENVIRONMENTAL MATCHED IN SOME WAY. SO WE HAVE TWO CROSS OVER GROUPS. STARTS OFF AND WE HAVE IMMEDIATE GROUP AND THEN THE PLACEBO GROUP CROSS OVER SO THAT THE TREATMENT IS NOT WITH HELD FROM ANYBODY. AND THEN WE ARE DOING--SO THIS IS THE SAME PICTURE I SHOWED YOU BEFORE AND IT BASICALLY SHOWED YOU THE NAMES OF ALL THE EXERCISES THAT WE ARE USING IN ORDER TO TRAIN FOR ALL THESE THINGS, MIKE AND I ARE VERY INTERESTED IN TRAINING FOR OLFACTION, THESE ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA WHO HAD REALLY GREAT STUFF WHERE THEY TAKE DIFFERENT STRONG SMELLS AND TRAIN PEOPLE SO WE'RE LIKE, YEAH, LET'S TRY THAT BUT NOT JUST [INDISCERNIBLE]. AND THEN THESE ARE ALL THE [INDISCERNIBLE] THAT WE WILL BE DOING, THIS SHOWS YOU THE TIME COURSE OF OUR IMMEDIATE IMMUNO DELAY TREATMENT AND THEN WE HAVE A HUGE BATTERY OF TESTS WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF IMAGING, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT BD& E SERUM MARKERS WE DOLL PSYCHOLOGICAL T-STAINING AND THEN WE WILL BE DOING SOME OF THE PHYSICAL QUALITY OF LIFE FUNCTIONALITY SCORES. THE SMELL TEST AND ALSO OF OUR PSYCHIATRIC TESTS AND I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT ALL--OH, SORRY, WHAT HAVE I DONE, ALL THE ONES WITH STAR ASKS ASTERISKS AND DIAMOND VS BEEN SHOWN AND THE WORK TO BE SIGNIFICANT--TO SHOW SIGNIFICANT CHANGES EARLY ON IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE AND SO. I'M SORRY WE'RE A BIT LATE BUT OUR TAKE HOME MESSAGE IS REALLY THAT OUR RESEARCH IS ABOUT ACKNOWLEDGING THAT CLINICAL EXCELLENCE AND CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE AND CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN OUR RESEARCH AND AT NO TIME WOULD WE WANT TO TRADE ANY OF THEM OFF SO FOR US IT'S ABOUT USING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND POSITIVE WEIGHT WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES AND DOG INTEGRAL RESEARCH AND POSITIVE WAYS AND SHARING THAT WE'RE GIVING THE BEST POSSIBLE TREATMENT IN CLINICAL TREATMENT THAT WE PERFECTLY CAN AND THEN DOING AMAZING SCIENCE AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE MAORI USE IN OUR WORDS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS INNOVATION AND WORK WE DO AS [INDISCERNIBLE]. SO I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW IMPORTANT SPIRITUALALLITY AND IF THERE'S ANYONE HERE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT'S INTERESTED IN INDIGENOUS SCIENCE, THERE'S ONE BOOK HERE WRITTEN BY GREGORY KAHITI, AND HE TALKS ABOUT EFFECTS IN THE COMMUNITY AND HE'S CONVINCE NOTHING THE WAY HE TALKS ABOUT THAT AND THEN FINALLY, I JUST REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE NEUROPLASTICKITY TO TEACH THEM TO CHANGE THE WAYS WE TREAT BRAIN DISEASES AND THIS IS EXCITING NOT JUST FOR HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE BUT FOR MANY OTHER DISEASES, WHICH CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE TREATMENT AND I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH MIKE WHOSE ONE OF THE GURUS IN THE AREA AND WHO IS VERY, VERY NICE PERSON TO WORK WITH. SO FINALLY I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE [INDISCERNIBLE] THE FAMILY THAT WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH, AND MIKE AND HIS TEAM AT THE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, OUR CLINICIANS, [INDISCERNIBLE] AND RICHARD AND LINDA, THEY'RE ALL PROFESSOR WHO IS ARE WORKING WITH US AND GIDDING ME IN THE WORK THAT I'M DOING BUT ALSO WHO IS THE WONDERFUL LADY. SHE'S AN ELDER IN THE COMMUNITY AND SHE GOT HER Ph.D. WHEN SHE WAS 72 YEARS OLD AND SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH US FOR 10 YEARS, SO SHE'S 82 YEARS OLD AND SHEAS QUITE WOBDERFUL BECAUSE SHE STUDIED GENETICS AND SHE KNOWS A LOT ABOUT CEREMONY AND PROTOCOL SO SHE'S REALLY QUITE AN EXCELLENT MEMBER OF THE TEAM. SO YEAH, THAT'S ME, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME COME AND SPEAK TODAY. [ APPLAUSE ]