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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Inside Out East (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One, 7.30pm, 26 October and 2 November) follows Parkinson's sufferer, Trevor Mills, as he undergoes brain surgery in an attempt to regain some semblance of what his life was like before the disease struck.

Trevor was diagnosed with Parkinson's when he was just 39 years old – usually it occurs much later in life. The disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain and affects mobility.

For an active person like Trevor, who had previously served in the forces, the disease meant an end to full-time employment, replaced with a life controlled by medication.

The symptoms of Parkinson's, which can also include severe shaking, can be partly controlled by taking a cocktail of pills, but Trevor was soon up to the maximum of more than 30 a day – any more and he could have caused serious damage to his internal organs.

Trevor decided to opt for a radical solution: brain surgery. Deep Brain Stimulation involves inserting wires into the parts of the brain that control movement which are then connected to a battery pack placed in the patient's chest.

Electrical impulses are sent to the brain interrupting the abnormal signals that are causing the symptoms. However, the treatment is not a cure, but is known to lessen dependence on tablets.

For the past year ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Inside Out has followed Trevor as he goes through the stringent tests required before being accepted for surgery. The cameras follow Trevor into the operating theatre at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridgeshire as he undergoes a seven-hour operation.

Neurosurgeon Colin Watts says of the dangers of the operation: "There is a risk that haemorrhage could be severe enough to cause death, those risks are small but they are not nil. This is not a magic bullet – it might not cure everything and it may even be disappointing."

Only when the device is switched on will Trevor find out if he will get something of his old life back. It is an emotional journey for the whole of Trevor's family.

As Trevor emerges from the hospital, he begins running – something he has been unable to do for years. The operation has been the success he had hoped for.

Trevor says: "I see my life as having a totally different slant on it now because I've been there, I've been in the depths of absolute no confidence in myself whatsoever – I know I appear it, but it's all been a front – now it's the real thing, nothing scares me, nothing will put me off – nothing will stop me achieving anything I want now – I've been as low as you can get so I'm on the way up now."

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Inside Out East is on Monday 26 October and 2 November 2009, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One, 7.30pm and can also be viewed via the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer.

Notes to Editors

Interviews with Trevor Mills available on request.

BG