Charles Sabine (photo by HDSA-San Diego)

The global movement to stop Huntington’s disease has gained an important, internationally recognized voice: Charles Sabine, the Emmy Award-winning former correspondent for NBC television, went public several years ago about his gene-positive test for HD and has since been traveling the world to raise awareness about HD and drum up support for research for treatments and a cure.

Sabine, 50, of Britain, lost his father to HD, and his older brother John had to stop practicing law at age 42 because he became symptomatic and could no longer work.

As a television reporter and war correspondent, Sabine saw a lot of death and himself came close to dying, but, he says, “Nothing that I’ve experienced compares with that test (for HD) in terms of the terror that it inflicted on me.”

Sabine has yet to experience symptoms and has dedicated himself to advocacy for Huntington’s disease families and research and also to related issues affecting people with genetic diseases, including genetic discrimination.

Italian director Filippo Soldi produced a powerful and moving film on Sabine, his brother, and his father. Titled Il turno (The Turn), the film was aired last December by Telethon Italy, one of the biggest biomedical charities in that country. Telethon supports research on the diagnosis, cure, and prevention of genetic diseases, including HD. The Turn helped raise several hundred thousand dollars for HD research.

To watch the film, click on the play button in the video player below. Then, to watch a personal message from Sabine to the San Diego HD community, scroll down to watch the video in the next player. HDSA-San Diego filmed Sabine during an international conference of HD researchers held in Palm Springs, CA, in early February.

Sabine is scheduled to bring his advocacy to Southern California in October.To read more about him, click on this link to a report on him by National Public Radio broadcast in November 2009. You can also listen to the audio version of that report by clicking here.