Normally when in close proximity of a deadly snake, our bodies flight or fight response kicks in telling us to get out of there. This is not the case however for Steve Ludwin, and his extremely dangerous 30-year long habit, of injecting himself with the deadly snack venom believing its health benefits outdo the dangers.
Steve is one of the individuals highlighted in this week’s episode of Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook, focusing on extraordinary individuals who push their danger limits to extreme measures.
Also introduced in this episode is Wim Hoff – a.k.a Iceman – who has an astonishing ability to endure cold temperatures. At Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands a team of researchers tried to find out exactly what happens in Wim’s body when he’s encased in ice leaving to a rather astonishing discovery.
Fear is our bodies most critical safety mechanism but Jordy Cernick has lost his fear response after an operation to remove the glands that produce the stress hormone, cortisol. Lucy Tong has a different fear response – any emotion she feels can cause her body to collapse without warning.
Finally we meet a man that has been cured from the incurable, HIV. Having received a stem cell transplant to treat his Leukaemia, Timothy Ray Brown, an HIV patient, is the only person to ever have been cured of the condition.
Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook, Wednesday, 9pm – BBC Two
