Celine Dion has stiff person syndrome, a neurological disease that affects the muscles.
- Celine Dion, born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne (Quebec), is a Canadian singer.
- She achieved worldwide fame in the 90s, with the two albums Falling into You and Let’s Talk About Love.
Depression, anorexia … Many rumors have been circulating for a few months about the state of health of singer Céline Dion, in particular because of her thinness and the cancellation of several concerts. Yesterday, the international star finally announced that she was suffering from a serious neurological condition, known as ‘stiff person syndrome (SPS)’.
Stiff person syndrome, a very rare neurological disorder
“I was just diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome, which affects approximately one in a million people,” she explained in a video posted on Instagram and YouTube.
This rare neurological disorder, the exact cause of which is still unknown, causes progressive muscle stiffness. If left untreated, it can have a significant impact on the patient’s ability to perform daily tasks.
“Stiff-person syndrome is characterized by fluctuating muscular rigidity in the trunk and limbs,” specifies the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) on its website. “The disease also develops an increased sensitivity to stimuli such as noise and touch, which can trigger muscle spasms,” explain the experts. “Patients also adopt abnormally hunched postures over time”, they add.
What are the treatments for stiff person syndrome?
Symptoms of PSS appear gradually over several months, and can be slowed with diazepam and anticonvulsants, including gabapentin or tiagabine.
“We now know that it is the SPS that is causing my spasms”, pursues Celine Dion in her video. “Unfortunately, these spasms affect all aspects of my daily life, sometimes causing me difficulty when walking and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing as I normally do”laments the 54-year-old Quebecer.
Today followed by a multidisciplinary team of doctors in charge of making him regain his strength, Celine Dion will not be able to continue his European tour despite everything.
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