Dr. Brian Kent:

I think this was alluded to in the testimony the committee received earlier and probably from its own reading. We know less than we need to know about this disorder. What we do know is that the majority of people with symptoms at three months will thankfully have fewer or no symptoms by 12 months. Data from the UK suggests that the number of people who have symptoms at three months will be approximately halved by 12 months, so most people will get better.

What we are not good at, and do not have a means to provide, is a prognosis. Our ability to prognosticate when we first meet the person is very limited. When someone walks into my clinic room or Dr. Bannan's clinic room and we talk to them about their symptoms, it is difficult for us to estimate whether in 12 months that person is going to be fine or continue to have significant and debilitating symptoms.