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t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 9/JA N 2 02 0 10 B y B r i t n i R . M c A s h a n The Trial of a Huntington's Warrior UTHealth is participating in an international trial for a new drug to treat the disease D epression and twitching, two hallmarks of Huntington's disease, began to overtake J Y Reynolds' life nearly a decade ago. "At first, I was hiding my disease. My now ex-wife thought I was having an affair," Reynolds said. "You always live in the back of your mind saying you don't have it—and I wanted to believe I didn't have it." Huntington's is an inherited, progressive neurodegenerative dis- ease that typically strikes patients in the prime of their lives. There is no cure. The disease unleashes a devastating host of symptoms in most patients—including abrupt, involuntary movements (known as chorea), cognitive decline, irritabil- ity and psychosis. Researchers discovered the gene that causes Huntington's in 1993. Each child of an affected parent has a 50 percent chance of developing the disease, but if the child does not develop the disease, he or she cannot pass it on to the next generation. "My grandfather got [Huntington's disease] and he shot himself—my mom's dad," Reynolds said. "He had 11 kids and seven of them had Huntington's." Reynolds' mother inherited the disease from her father; Reynolds and his older brother inherited it from her. "My mom had it and passed away at 52 from pneumonia. My older brother had it and he passed away at 46. My younger brother died in a car accident at 17, so we don't know if he would have had it," said Reynolds, who is 44. "I have two children and neither one of them has been tested—they are 21 and 7 years old." Although Reynolds knew about Huntington's disease before his mother became symptomatic, he said it is a totally different experience to actually witness its progression. J Y Reynolds, who is living with Huntington's disease, volunteers at Bread of Life, a Houston nonprofit that aims to end homelessness.