Mike Hinshaw and Katie Jackson have been a couple since college, but they've known each other much longer.
"We've been together forever. I've actually known Mike since I was five years old," Jackson said.
A marriage and three kids later, they've been through good times and bad. The worst came nine years ago when Hinshaw found out he had Huntington's disease.
"My father had it. He died from it," Hinshaw explained.
Huntington's causes uncontrollable movements and mental decline. There's no cure.
"Unfortunately, it ends in death. It's a fatal disease," said Dr. Vicki Wheelock, neurologist, health sciences clinical professor of neurology and director of HDSA Center of Excellence at UC Davis.
Now, researchers are gearing up for a new trial in humans. Patients will have special bone marrow stem cells injected directly into their brains.
"We've engineered them to make a growth factor that's like a fertilizer for the neurons," said Dr. Jan Nolta, professor and director of the Institute for Regenerative Cures at UC Davis.
That growth factor, BDNF, restored healthy brain cells and reduced behavior deficits in mice. Researchers hope the stem cells will also be the answer to slowing the disease in humans.
"To be able to work on this for the Huntington's community, it really feels like the most important thing in my career ever," Nolta said.
Hinshaw is signed up to receive the stem cells. He's excited about the possibilities, especially for his kids. They each have a 50/50 chance of inheriting Huntington's.
"Kids, that's the biggest thing," Hinshaw said. "I can deal with it myself, but if they get it, I'll die."
For now, Hinshaw and Jackson are thankful there's hope.
This study will be a pilot trial and the injection will be given one time, after MRI imaging.
In mice, the stem cells delayed progression of Huntington's for up to a year, which is about half of a mouse's lifetime. Researchers are unsure what the effect will be in humans.
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