The scientific debate behind the frustrating, uncertain world of ME and the limbo that sufferers must endure.
In the second episode of a two part special, Trusadh takes a deeper look into the world of ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), the debilitating disease that affects more than 250,000 people in the UK. Scientific opinion is split as to the origins and nature of the illness, and the best way to approach treatment. The episode focuses on the controversial work of a David Mickel, a Scottish doctor who believes he has found the 'cure' to ME - a talking therapy which addresses an imbalance in the emotional centre of the brain. He has no scientific proof, but claims an astonishing success rate. We follow two patients as they undergo his therapy, and hear a very different perspective on the illness from neurologist, Prof. Peter Behan, who carried out groundbreaking studies on ME at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.
The stakes are high for the ME sufferers Allison MacColl from Ness in Lewis and Kim Ayres from Castle Douglas in Dumfriesshire. Both have suffered from ME for many years and have had their lives turned upside down. Both were resigned to life with an illness that, even now, some doctors do not believe in. The ME Association, the charity which represents sufferers in the UK, is highly skeptical. Can Allison and Kim dare to hope?
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