ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Singer Celine Dion addressed her fans this week apologizing for being absent from the spotlight and disclosing that she has been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a neurological disorder.
- Celine Dion announced that she has a neurological disorder
- Symptoms of stiff person syndrome include progressive muscle stiffness and spasms, as well as an achy lower back
- A local neuroscientist said there is no cure for stiff person syndrome but medication is available to treat symptoms
Now, a Lehigh Valley doctor is shedding light on the condition.
Stiff person syndrome is a rare acquired neurological disorder. Symptoms include progressive muscle stiffness and spasms, as well as an achy lower back.
“What I want to really emphasize is that this is incredibly rare," said Dr. Alissa Romano, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the Lehigh Valley Fleming Neurological Institute, part of Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Romano has treated three patients with the disorder during her career at LVHN.
"It's a 1 to 2 in a million diagnosis. What's much more common is low back pain, and muscle spasms from radiculopathy ease and muscle disorders and things of that nature,” he said.
“We actually do not know the exact cause, but we believe that it's an autoimmune disorder, and what that means is that our body's natural defenses, which are called antibodies, attack healthy tissue for some unknown reason, and so our body somewhat goes haywire and attacks these healthy tissues,” Romano said.
“There can be triggering stimuli that cause worsening and so one of them is bright lights, loud crowds. Something that can startle a person could actually cause these muscle spasms to trigger."Alissa Romano, neurologist at Lehigh Valley Fleming Neurological Institute
The neuroscientist said there is no cure for stiff person syndrome, but medication is available to treat symptoms.
She said symptoms often are caused by a trigger, such as a loud noise, bright light or even stress. The doctor said all of those triggers are present for someone in the spotlight.
“There can be triggering stimuli that cause worsening, and so one of them is bright lights, loud crowds. Something that can startle a person could actually cause these muscle spasms to trigger," Romano said.
“So certainly when someone is in concert in front of a roaring crowd with bright lights beaming on them, this could trigger an episode and severe muscle spasms.”
Romano also said the condition can affect the vocal cords, which Dion recently described in her social media post about her health condition.
