Celine Dion diagnosed with stiff person syndrome
Neurologist Dr. Scott Newsome, director of the Johns Hopkins Stiff Person Syndrome Center, explains the popular singer's diagnosis.
From one female powerhouse to another, Shania Twain is sending prayers to Céline Dion.
Dion has stepped away from the spotlight since announcing she was diagnosed with an incurable neurological disorder late last year.
"I hope to be able to connect with her at some point," Twain told Billboard of the "Beauty and the Beast" singer.
"I think it’s gotta be so difficult, and I know — only speaking from my experience — how horrifying it is to think that something is preventing you from singing, or interfering with that joy in your life. So I just pray that she is able to overcome it and she will be up there [on stage] singing for us all again," she added.
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Shania Twain shared her good wishes for Céline Dion amid her ongoing battle with stiff person syndrome. (Kate Green/Céline Dion Instagram)
"I’m such a fan of Céline’s voice," Twain said. "She’s a one-of-a-kind, extraordinary vocalist and entertainer."
Twain has been candid about her previous health struggles, including a surgery to strengthen her vocal cords, which left her unable to speak for three weeks. She said she sustained nerve damage as a direct result of Lyme Disease.
"It was quite depressing. Devastating to imagine that I would never sing again, even speaking, really, you know has always been difficult," she told Lorraine Kelly on her show of having the disease.
Shania Twain has also dealt with health issues including Lyme Disease and COVID-19. (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
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Also asthmatic, Twain revealed to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, she had a "really bad bout with COVID," that was "very threatening."
"I had to be air-vaced by a special team…Nobody else would fly me to the hospital…You can't just pick up a COVID patient and fly them to a hospital," she recalled of the ordeal.
Celine Dion told her fans in December 2022 she would not be able to tour due to stiff person syndrome diagnosis. (Brian Rasic/WireImage/Getty Images)
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In December 2022, an emotional Dion took to Instagram to disclose her health issues.
"As you know, I've always been an open book. And I wasn't ready to say anything before — but I'm ready now. I've been dealing with problems with my health for a long time. And it's been really difficult for me to face these challenges and talk about everything that I've been going through."
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Dion then revealed she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS), which she explained "affects something like one in a million people."
SPS is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as "a rare autoimmune movement disorder that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). People with this condition first experience a stiffening of the muscles of their trunk followed, over time, by the development of stiffness and rigidity in the legs and other muscles in the body."
Dion has been relatively off-the-radar since her announcement last winter. A representative for the singer did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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