Earlier this year, Celine Dion canceled several concerts due to health reasons. Now the star tells us that she has suffered from Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disease.
During Thursday, the world artist Celine Dion published a video on Instagram in which she tells the sad news that she has suffered from the autoimmune disease Stiff Person Syndrome.
“Affects one in a million”
“I have had problems with my health for a long time and it has been very difficult for me to deal with these challenges and talk about everything that I have been through,” says Dion in the video and continues:
“Recently, I have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disease called Stiff Person Syndrome, which affects about one person in a million. Although we are still learning about this rare condition, we now know that it has affected all the spasms I have had.”
Dion explains that the disease affects her ability to sing and perform, which is why she has been forced into numerous concerts. She also says that she has a “great team” of doctors that she works with and that she focuses on her health in order to perform again in the future.
“I love you so much and really hope I can see you again very soon,” she says.
What is Stiff Person Syndrome?
Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is an acquired disease affecting the central nervous system. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues and organs.
The symptoms usually appear in adulthood and involve progressive muscle stiffness, painful muscle cramps and sometimes involuntary muscle twitching.
Stiff person syndrome is considered in most cases as an acquired autoimmune disease. It is closely related to other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, which is present in one third of those with the syndrome.
SPS is an uncommon disease – in international studies there are reports that the syndrome occurs in approximately one person per million inhabitants. The treatment is usually lifelong and aims to alleviate the symptoms and break the autoimmune process. The prognosis is usually good, but there is a more serious form of the disease that is linked to certain tumor forms.
