Céline Dion has had a very difficult few months since before the year 2023 even started. It was in December that the artist from Quebec confirmed to the media that the artist suffered from rigid person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that affects one person per million worldwide. Since then the artist has been severely affected by the changes in her life, and the situation has not improved.
In an exclusive interview for the latest issue of Hello in Canada magazine, her sister Claudette Dion has given a new update on the singer's status, assuring that her sister continues to fight to overcome her difficulties. However, she has admitted that there is very little she and her family can do about it, knowing very little about the disease and unable to cope with the symptoms that come on suddenly and are difficult to abate.
“He is doing everything he can to recover. She is a strong woman ”, expressed her sister. “It is a disease about which we know very little. There are spasms, which are impossible to control. Do you know those people who move at night because their leg or thigh has fallen asleep? It's a bit like that, but in all muscles. There is little that we can do to alleviate her pain ”, detailed the also artist in the Canadian publication.
It was Céline herself who was in charge of announcing the bad news to her audience, canceling all the concerts of her world tour in two batches, the first in December and the second in May. “We still don't know everything about this rare disease, but we now know that it is the cause of my muscle spasms. A great medical team works with me to help me get well, and my children also give me hope and support, ”she explained in a video.
Stiff person syndrome "is characterized by episodes of stiffness and muscle spasms of the muscles of the trunk and of the arms and legs, often caused by increased sensitivity to noise, touch, and as a startle response," as detailed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the United States. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease associated with other diseases such as diabetes, thyroiditis or anemia.
In addition to the spasms that affect Céline, other symptoms of this rare disease include abnormal postures such as hunching over, forced falls due to rigidity and the spasms themselves, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Many patients "suffer from anxiety and depression, probably because of the symptoms that affect their daily activities, but also because the cause of the syndrome is related to low levels of neurotransmitters," which regulate mood.
