In the last issue I discussed how pivotal individual suffering and motivation can be in the development of important health treatments, particularly for chronic or intractable conditions which are not treatable using conventional approaches. I also described how influential the motivation of research clinicians often features in discovering better ways to help their patients.

The origins of numerous effective therapies and treatments often arise from the desperate search for relief of sufferers of devastating illnesses. In this age of evidence-based medicine, which often is the end result of discovery and development, it would be a pity to forget that misery is often a spur for invention and innovation.