A grandmother who suffered from "embarrassing" tremors leaving her unable to carry a cup was diagnosed with an incurable condition - but she now has her life back after being chosen for pioneering treatment.
Maureen Greenough, 65, said didn't think anything of it when "a little shake" in her hand started several years ago. She became worried she had Parkinson's and sought medical help after the tremor gradually got worse, spreading down her right-hand side and into her leg.
The former nursing assistant is one of more than a million people in the UK diagnosed with essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes an uncontrollable shake or trembling in part of the body, including the hands and head. Roughly a quarter of people with the condition are severely disabled by their tremors, according to specialist neurology and neurosurgery hospital trust The Walton Centre in Liverpool.
She told the Liverpool Echo : "It was embarrassing, because if I wanted a cup of tea, I'd have to hold it with both hands. I couldn't carry a cup of tea from the kitchen into the lounge without holding it with two hands, and even then I still spilt a bit. If I went out anywhere, people didn't stare at me, but I was conscious of it. It's not a nice feeling."
Maureen's GP referred her to The Walton Centre and at first her treatment options were medication or invasive brain surgery. It changed in March when she became the first patient at the centre to undergo a "cutting-edge treatment" for essential tremor.
The treatment, known as Focused Ultrasound - or Trans-cranial MR-guided Focused Ultrasound - uses high frequency sound waves to deliver packets of energy to the brain. Guided by MRI scan images, the "innovative technology" focuses these sounds waves on one spot deep within the brain, generating heat and causing "very targeted thermal damage" that improves tremors.
The NHS trust won a contract to deliver the new service at the end of last year, making it the first centre in the north of England to offer an incisionless treatment for the condition. It is the second in the country to offer the treatment.
Maureen, from St Helens in Merseyside, said she noticed the effects straight away and was "emotional" after realising it had worked. She said: "I couldn't believe how immediate the change was. As soon as I left the treatment room I noticed that my right hand had stopped shaking, it was like the team at The Walton Centre had flipped a switch!"
For now, patients eligible for the focused ultrasounds treatment get only one round of it to reduce tremors on one side of the body. Doctors say tremors are still reduced three years after the treatment.
Maureen still has a slight shake in her left hand, but overall says her condition "has changed". She can safely carry tea, and she's looking forward to lifting a gin and tonic with her right hand at her nephew's wedding in August, without fear of spilling it.
She said: "It's just amazing, and the doctors were just absolutely brilliant with me. I've got my life back."
To test how effective the treatment patients are asked to draw spirals before, during and after. Doctors at The Walton Centre say the results are striking, with a scribble becoming a clear spiral after tremors are reduced.
The Walton Centre's medical director Dr Andrew Nicolson said: "We consider this treatment a game-changer for our patients with Essential Tremor. Those eligible will be able to have the treatment and see their symptoms on one side of their body essentially disappear.
"Usually to achieve this effect in Movement Disorders, it would require much more invasive surgical intervention. It’s been an incredible team effort and the first treatment marks the start of an invaluable service we can offer our patients."
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