Da jeg var 10 år gammel, viste min fætter mig rundt på sit medicinstudie. Og som noget helt særligt viste han mig patologilaboratoriet og tog en rigtig menneskehjerne ud af glasset og lagde den i mine hænder. Og der lå den, sædet af den menneskelige bevidsthed, kraftens hus i det menneskelige legeme, liggende i mine hænder. Og den dag vidste jeg, at når jeg blev voksen, så ville jeg være hjernelæge, videnskabsmand eller noget i den retning.
When I was 10 years old, a cousin of mine took me on a tour of his medical school. And as a special treat, he took me to the pathology lab and took a real human brain out of the jar and placed it in my hands. And there it was, the seat of human consciousness, the powerhouse of the human body, sitting in my hands. And that day I knew that when I grew up, I was going to become a brain doctor, scientist, something or the other.
Flere år senere, da jeg endelig blev voksen, blev min drøm til virkelighed. Og det var imens jeg var i gang med min Ph.D. om de neurologiske årsager til ordblindhed i børn, at jeg stødte på en overraskende kendsgerning, som jeg gerne vil dele med jer i dag. Det anslås, at 1 ud af 6 børn, det er et ud af seks børn, lider af en slags udviklingsforstyrrelse. Det er en lidelse, der forsinker den mentale udvikling i barnet, og forårsager permanente psykiske handicaps. Og det betyder at hver og en af jer her i dag kender mindst ét barn, der lider af en udviklingsforstyrrelse.
Years later, when I finally grew up, my dream came true. And it was while I was doing my Ph.D. on the neurological causes of dyslexia in children that I encountered a startling fact that I'd like to share with you all today. It is estimated that one in six children, that's one in six children, suffer from some developmental disorder. This is a disorder that retards mental development in the child and causes permanent mental impairments. Which means that each and every one of you here today knows at least one child that is suffering from a developmental disorder.
Men det der virkelig forvirrede mig var, at til trods for kendsgerningen, at hver og en af disse lidelser har oprindelse i hjernen, så bliver de fleste af disse lidelser kun diagnosticeret på basis af observerbar adfærd. Men at diagnosticere en hjernesygdom uden rent faktisk at kigge på hjernen, svarer til at behandle en patient med et hjerteproblem baseret på deres fysiske symptomer, uden overhovedet at foretage en EKG eller røntgenfotografering for at se på hjertet. Det virkede så intuitivt for mig. For at diagnosticere og behandle en hjernesygdom præcist, måtte det være nødvendigt at kigge direkte på hjernen. At kigge på adfærden alene kan betyde, at man går glip af en vigtig brik i puslespillet og det giver et ufuldstændigt, eller ligefrem vildledende billede af barnets problemer. Og til trods for alle fremskridt inden for den medicinske tekonologi, forblev diagnosticeringen af hjernesygdomme i et ud af seks børn stadig så begrænset.
But here's what really perplexed me. Despite the fact that each and every one of these disorders originates in the brain, most of these disorders are diagnosed solely on the basis of observable behavior. But diagnosing a brain disorder without actually looking at the brain is analogous to treating a patient with a heart problem based on their physical symptoms, without even doing an ECG or a chest X-ray to look at the heart. It seemed so intuitive to me. To diagnose and treat a brain disorder accurately, it would be necessary to look at the brain directly. Looking at behavior alone can miss a vital piece of the puzzle and provide an incomplete, or even a misleading, picture of the child's problems. Yet, despite all the advances in medical technology, the diagnosis of brain disorders in one in six children still remained so limited.
Og så stødte jeg på et team på Harvard Universitet, der havde taget den avancerede medicinske teknologi og endeligt anvendt den i stedet for hjerneforskning, for at diagnosticere hjernesygdomme i børn. Deres banebrydende teknologi registrerer EEG eller den elektriske aktivitet i hjernen i realtid, hvilket lader os se på hjernen, mens den udfører forskellige funtioner og vi kan se selv de mindste abnormaliteter i hver af disse funktioner: syn, opmærskomhed, sprog, hørelse. Et program kaldet Hjernens Elektriske Aktivitetskortlægning triangulerer så kilden til denne abnormalitet i hjernen. Og et andet program, der hedder Statistisk Sandsynlighedskortlægning, udfører så matematiske udregninger for at bestemme om disse abnormaliteter er klinisk signifikante, hvilket giver os en meget mere nøjagtig neurologisk diagnose af barnets symptomer. Og så blev jeg leder af neurofysiologi for den kliniske del af dette team. Nu kan vi endelig bruge denne teknologi til rent faktisk at hjælpe børn med hjernesygdomme. Og jeg kan med glæde sige, at jeg nu er i gang med at etablere denne teknologi her i Indien.
And then I came across a team at Harvard University that had taken one such advanced medical technology and finally applied it, instead of in brain research, towards diagnosing brain disorders in children. Their groundbreaking technology records the EEG, or the electrical activity of the brain, in real time, allowing us to watch the brain as it performs various functions and then detect even the slightest abnormality in any of these functions: vision, attention, language, audition. A program called Brain Electrical Activity Mapping then triangulates the source of that abnormality in the brain. And another program called Statistical Probability Mapping then performs mathematical calculations to determine whether any of these abnormalities are clinically significant, allowing us to provide a much more accurate neurological diagnosis of the child's symptoms. And so I became the head of neurophysiology for the clinical arm of this team, and we're finally able to use this technology towards actually helping children with brain disorders. And I'm happy to say that I'm now in the process of setting up this technology here in India.
Jeg vil gerne fortælle Jer om et sådant barn, hvis historie også blev fortalt på ABC News. Syv-årige Justin Senigar kom til vores klinik, diagnosticeret med svær autisme. Ligesom hos mange andre autistiske børn var hans sind indelåst i hans krop. Der var øjeblikke, hvor han blev helt tom i blikket i flere sekunder ad gangen. Og lægerne sagde til hans forældre, at han aldrig ville kunne kommunikere eller fungere socialt, og at han sikkert aldrig ville have meget sprog.
I'd like to tell you about one such child, whose story was also covered by ABC News. Seven-year-old Justin Senigar came to our clinic with this diagnosis of very severe autism. Like many autistic children, his mind was locked inside his body. There were moments when he would actually space out for seconds at a time. And the doctors told his parents he was never going to be able to communicate or interact socially, and he would probably never have too much language.
Da vi brugte den banebrydende EEG teknologi for faktisk at se på Justins hjerne, var resultatet overraskende. Det viste sig at Justin næsten helt sikkert ikke var autistisk. Hen led af slagtilfælde i hjernen, som man umuligt kunne se med det blotte øje, men som faktisk forårsagede de symptomer, der lignede autisme. Efter Justin fik anti-slagtilfældemedicin, var forandringen i ham utrolig. Inden for en periode på 60 dage voksede hans ordforråd fra to-tre ord til 300 ord. Og hans kommunikation og sociale adfærd blev så meget bedre, at han blev indskrevet i en almidelig skole, og han blev endda karatemester.
When we used this groundbreaking EEG technology to actually look at Justin's brain, the results were startling. It turned out that Justin was almost certainly not autistic. He was suffering from brain seizures that were impossible to see with the naked eye, but that were actually causing symptoms that mimicked those of autism. After Justin was given anti-seizure medication, the change in him was amazing. Within a period of 60 days, his vocabulary went from two to three words to 300 words. And his communication and social interaction were improved so dramatically that he was enrolled into a regular school and even became a karate super champ.
Forskning viser at 50% af børn, næsten 50% af børn diagnosticeret med autisme, rent faktisk lider af gemte slagtilfælde i hjernen. Disse er ansigterne på børnene, som jeg har testet, med historier ligesom Justins. Alle disse børn kom til vores klinik diagnosticeret med autisme, opmærksomhedsunderskud, mental retardering, sprogproblemer. I stedet viste vores EEG-scanniger meget specifikke problemer gemt i deres hjerner, som umuligt kunne have været opdaget via adfærdsmæssige vurderinger. Derfor hjalp disse EEG-scanniger os med at give disse børn en meget mere nøjagtig neurologisk diagnose og en meget mere målrettet behandling.
Research shows that 50 percent of children, almost 50 percent of children diagnosed with autism are actually suffering from hidden brain seizures. These are the faces of the children that I have tested with stories just like Justin. All these children came to our clinic with a diagnosis of autism, attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, language problems. Instead, our EEG scans revealed very specific problems hidden within their brains that couldn't possibly have been detected by their behavioral assessments. So these EEG scans enabled us to provide these children with a much more accurate neurological diagnosis and much more targeted treatment.
I alt for lang tid nu har børn med udviklingsforstyrrelser lidt af fejldiagnoser, mens deres rigtige problemer forbliver uopdagede og forværres. Og i for lang tid har disse børn og deres forældre lidt unødig frustration og desperation. Men nu er vi i en ny æra af neurovidenskab, i hvilken vi endelig kan se direkte på hjernens funktioner i realtid, uden risici eller bivirkninger, ikke-invasivt, og finde den sande kilde til så mange handicaps i børn.
For too long now, children with developmental disorders have suffered from misdiagnosis while their real problems have gone undetected and left to worsen. And for too long, these children and their parents have suffered undue frustration and desperation. But we are now in a new era of neuroscience, one in which we can finally look directly at brain function in real time with no risks and no side effects, non-invasively, and find the true source of so many disabilities in children.
Så hvis jeg kan inspirere selv kun en brøkdel af jer i publikum i dag til at dele denne banebrydende diagnostiske metode med blot én forælder hvis barn lider af en udviklingsforstyrrelse, så bliver måske endnu et puslespil i en hjerne løst. Endnu et sind kan blive befriet. Og endnu et barn som er blevet fejldiagnosticeret, eller helt udiagnosticeret af systemet, kan endeligt realisere sit sande potentiale, mens der stadig er tid til at hans eller hendes hjerne kan komme sig. Og alt dette blot ved at kigge på barnets hjernebølger.
So if I could inspire even a fraction of you in the audience today to share this pioneering diagnostic approach with even one parent whose child is suffering from a developmental disorder, then perhaps one more puzzle in one more brain will be solved. One more mind will be unlocked. And one more child who has been misdiagnosed or even undiagnosed by the system will finally realize his or her true potential while there's still time for his or her brain to recover. And all this by simply watching the child's brainwaves.
Tak.
Thank you.
Bifald.
(Applause)