Doctor In The House

FOR THE MILLIONS of viewers who miss the caustic wit and quirky charms of Dr House (played by Hugh Laurie) in the long-running drama House, here's the next best thing - a new medical documentary series starring the real-life doctor who inspired Laurie's character.

Her name is Lisa Sanders, a 63-year-old American doctor who's written the column Diagnosis for The New York Times Magazine since 2002. Like Dr House, Dr Sanders is interested in getting to the bottom of medical enigmas, the strange recurring afflictions that don't fit the diagnosis of ordinary diseases. But unlike Dr House, Dr Sanders is much more gentle, affirming and sympathetic towards her patients.

In most cases, the latter have exhausted all the resources within their reach, from family doctors to local university hospitals. Many have intense pain that makes them weep like little children, as well as temporary paralysis, seizures and fainting spells that make ordinary activities like…