Celine Dion, the famous singer, shared a tough moment in her battle with stiff-person syndrome in her new documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” released on Prime Video.
In the film, Dion, 56, is seen having a severe spasm during a physical therapy session. She is lying on a table and starts shaking and crying from the pain.
Dion announced in December 2022 that she had this rare neurological disease, which causes painful spasms and trouble walking. The documentary shows her dealing with one of these difficult episodes.
During the spasm, a physical therapist talks to Dion and asks her to squeeze his hand if she is in pain. He gives her a nasal spray to help with her breathing. The people in the room consider calling 911, but Dion tells them, “I’m OK.”
Dion wanted to keep this scene in the film. When she saw a rough cut of the documentary six months later, she told the director, Irene Taylor, “Don’t cut down that scene.”
Dion has been living with the symptoms of this condition for 17 years.
What is Stiff-Person Syndrome?
Stiff-person syndrome is a rare autoimmune and neurological disease affecting about 1 or 2 out of every 1 million people.
It causes muscles to stiffen and can lead to severe muscle spasms. These spasms can happen randomly or be triggered by things like loud noises, touch, or stress.
Dr. Jennifer Hankenson from Yale Medicine says that people with this condition have low amounts of a brain chemical called GABA, which helps control anxiety and muscle movement.
Without enough GABA, muscles can become very tense and spasm, which can be very painful.
There is no cure for stiff-person syndrome rather, treatments focus on easing symptoms with medications like sedatives, muscle relaxants, and steroids. Immunotherapies and physical therapies can also help.
More research is needed to understand why some people develop this condition. For now, it remains a rare but challenging disease.
Watch video below for further details:
Celine Dion shares a vulnerable look into her experience with stiff-person syndrome in her new documentary. pic.twitter.com/S9CyGYY3PP
— E! News (@enews) June 26, 2024
