he team's newest findings are among the most unexpected. Often people who seek out the test say they are trying to decide whether to have children. Yet there have been 10 births among the 63 who tested positive. "Part of it is life affirming," says Brandt. "They say having children gives a sense of normalcy to their lives." As for their children's health prospects, he says, "they're confident of a cure." The data also show 10 new marriages among those who found they have the gene. The spouse is often the person who served as confidant during the sessions.

Buried in those numbers are unexpected stories. Ruth, 37, was among the first to be tested, in 1986, back when scientists knew only the approximate location of the gene and the test had only 95% accuracy. At the time, Ruth had a solid marriage, one son, another on the way, and no doubts about wanting to know whether she would get the disease that had driven her ailing mother to make three suicide attempts. "I believe that if you know you're at risk but don't know if you have the gene, you'll live your life like you have the disease," says Ruth. Her plan if she tested positive: to find a good housekeeper for her husband and sons, then disappear. "I wanted to spare my family," she explains.

Ruth was less prepared for a happy outcome. Within a year of testing negative, she separated from her husband. "I didn't know what I wanted anymore," she says. "A lot of decisions I made didn't make sense. I just wanted to be free." After the discovery of the Huntington's gene in 1993 and the development of a virtually error-free test, Ruth was retested. Again, negative. She has since remarried, had a third son and trained as a physical therapist. Often she works with HD patients.

Such tales of human resilience sustain Brandt as he watches some of the program's participants progress from risk to clinical manifestation to full-blown illness to death. "You can't help being impressed by the human drama of it," he says. Indeed, the sharing of stories, both happy and dire, is often his best tool for compelling people to weigh seriously the pros and cons of testing. "Most people," he says, "resonate more to the stories than to the psychological tests and statistical results."

And the clients resonate to Brandt. "He gave me perspective," says Ruth. Before testing, she was afraid that she would become "mean" like her mother. "He said to me, 'Your mother's personality is very different, so if you think the manifestations will be the same for you, you're wrong.' I'll never forget that." The most moving testimony, though, came from John, a married man who deeply desired a child but feared passing on the Huntington's gene. In a recent letter to Brandt's team, John thanked them for providing the "strength and courage" to take the test, which turned out negative. Enclosed was tangible evidence of their impact: a snapshot of his three-month-old daughter.