A nan-of-four 'got her life back' after struggling to write and carry cups of tea for years due to an incurable condition. Maureen Greenough, 65, didn't think anything of it when "a little shake" in her hand started several years ago.
But she 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 Liverpool Echo reports. The St Helens rugby league fan said: "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."
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The former nursing assistant is one of more than a million people in the UK with essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes an uncontrollable shake or trembling in part of the body, and roughly a quarter of people with the condition are severely disabled by their tremors, according to The Walton Centre, a specialist neurology and neurosurgery hospital trust in Liverpool, which Maureen's GP referred her to. At first, treatment options were medication or surgery, but the drugs wore off and brain surgery would have been invasive.
That changed in March when Maureen became the first patient at The Walton Centre to undergo a new "cutting-edge treatment" for essential tremor. 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, and the second in the country, to offer an incisionless treatment for the condition.
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.
Maureen noticed the effects straight away, saying: "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!"
She said it made her "emotional" because she wasn't sure it would work, but for now, patients eligible for the focused ultrasounds treatment get only one round of it to reduce tremors on one side of the body, with "tremor relief maintained at three years", according to The Walton Centre.
Maureen still has a slight shake in her left hand, but overall 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 spillage.
Maureen said: "It's just amazing, and the doctors were just absolutely brilliant with me. I've got my life back."
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 today marks the start of an invaluable service we can offer our patients."
Mr Jibril Osman Farah, consultant neurosurgeon and one of the lead clinicians for this project, hopes the waiting list can be reduced significantly now The Walton Centre can offer the treatment. He said: "Those patients in the north of England waiting for this treatment can now come here to Liverpool, rather than have to wait to be treated in London, which can be difficult to get to. Focused Ultrasound is a groundbreaking treatment for patients with Essential Tremor.
"To test how effective the treatment is we ask patients to draw spirals before, during and after, and the results are so striking. Before it was a scribble, and after it is a clear spiral, the tremors are drastically reduced. I’m so proud of the team and how we’ve pulled together to bring this treatment to patients here at The Walton Centre."
The innovative technology was developed and implemented by Insightec, who have worked closely with The Walton Centre to deliver this new treatment to patients in the North of England. Maurice R. Ferré MD, Insightec CEO and chairman of the board of directors said: "We are deeply committed to continuing to transform patient care with minimally invasive, innovative surgical procedures. The Exablate system will help support a better quality of life for people diagnosed and living with Essential Tremor."
For more information about Focused Ultrasound, go to The Walton Centre's website.
