Little That Can Be Done to ‘Alleviate’ Pain

• Celine Dion’s sister gave an update on the singer following her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis.
• Claudette Dion said there’s not much that Dion’s family can do to “alleviate” her pain.
• The singer is experiencing muscle spasms that are “impossible to control,” said her sister.

Celine Dion’s sister, Claudette Dion, has shared an update on the singer’s condition after she announced that she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in December.

Stiff-person syndrome is a neurological disease that causes muscle spasms and rigidity, and also affects a person’s vocal cords and their ability to walk.

Celine’s sister, Claudette, previously opened up about Dion’s health in July, saying that while the family can’t find “any medicine that works,” the singer is getting help from the “top researchers” in the field. 

In a new interview with HELLO! Canada, published on Thursday, Claudette gave another update on the “My Heart Will Go On” singer’s condition.

“She’s doing everything to recover. She’s a strong woman,” Claudette told the publication.

“It’s an illness we know so little about. There are spasms — they’re impossible to control. You know people often jump up in the night because of a cramp in the leg or the calf? It’s a bit like that, but in all muscles,” said Claudette. 

She added: “There’s little we can do to support her, to alleviate her pain.”

Claudette once again expressed hope that experts will be able to find a way of curing her sister.

“We’re crossing our fingers that researchers will find a remedy for this awful illness,” she said.

As Insider’s Marianne Guenot previously reported, stiff-person syndrome is currently managed with a combination of antibody injections, anti-anxiety drugs, and muscle relaxants. The disease can become debilitating over time if left unmanaged.

The 55-year-old Grammy-winning artist shared her diagnosis in December 2022. In an emotional video posted to Instagram, she said: “I’ve always been an open book. 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. It’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything I’ve been going through,” Dion said. 

“Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something one in a million people.”