Celine Dion looked in good spirits as she watched Katy Perry perform one of her last residency concerts in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The singer, 55, sat in the VIP section alongside Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as she enjoyed a rare outing amid her battle with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome.
She announced last year that she had been diagnosed with the condition, also called Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), which is a rare neurological condition that gives people painful muscle spasms.
Celine had retreated from the spotlight while she focused on her health but last week made her first public outing in three years as she watched the Montreal Canadiens hockey team took on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Taking advantage of her time in Sin City, Celine then took in Katy’s residency show at Resorts World Theatre.
Enthralled: Celine Dion looked in good spirits as she watched Katy Perry perform one of her last residency concerts in Las Vegas on Sunday
Health woes: Last year, Celine was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) which is a rare neurological condition that gives people painful muscle spasms
She looked effortlessly stylish for the show, layering a black blazer over a leopard print dress and accessorising with chunky gold jewellery.
Celine was forced to cancel her own shows as she battles SPS, revealing she had to pull the plug on her Courage World Tour.
‘I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again,’ Celine wrote on Instagram on May 26. ‘I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%.
‘It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again,’ she continued.
‘I want you all to know, I’m not giving up and I can’t wait to see you again!’
Her older sibling Claudette Dion, 74, now said she was devastated and there seems little she and the singer’s family can do to help her ‘strong’ sister or ‘alleviate her pain’.
Claudette told HELLO! Canada: ‘She’s doing everything to recover. She’s a strong woman. It’s an illness we know so little about. There are spasms – they’re impossible to control.
‘You know who 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.
‘There’s little we can do to support her, to alleviate her pain.’
Rubbing shoulders with royalty: The singer, 55, sat in the VIP section alongside Meghan and Prince Harry as she enjoyed a rare outing amid her battle with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome
Striking: Taking advantage of her time in Sin City, Celine took in Katy’s residency show at Resorts World Theatre
Glamorous: She looked effortlessly stylish for the show, layering a black blazer over a leopard print dress and accessorising with chunky gold jewellery
She added mother-of-three Celine’s family is ‘crossing our fingers that researchers will find a remedy for this awful illness’.
Celine’s other sister Linda and her husband have moved into the singer’s home in Las Vegas to care for her, and Claudette added: ‘It’s comforting for us all (to have them near Celine.)’
Claudette previously revealed that despite working with ‘the top researchers in the field’, Grammy-winning Celine has seen little improvement in her health.
She told Le Journal de Montreal: ‘We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.’
Claudette said Celine cancelling her Courage tour was a necessary move for her chances of rehabilitation.
She added about the singer: ‘I honestly think that she mostly needs to rest. She always goes above and beyond, she always tries to be the best and top of her game. At one point, your heart and your body are trying to tell you something. It’s important to listen to it.’
Celine’s sons have also been credited with with helping their mother amid her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
René-Charles, Eddy and Nelson have been ‘her rock’ as she grapples with the rare neurological condition, a source told Us Weekly.
‘Her kids have been her rock… The twins are very mature for their age and René-Charles checks in and dotes on his mom all the time,’ the insider said of the three boys, whose father is Celine’s late husband René Angélil, who died age 73 in 2016 after they were married for 22 years.
On stage: Celine was forced to cancel her own shows as she battles SPS, revealing she had to pull the plug on her Courage World Tour (pictured in 2015)
Back in January 2020, she posted to Instagram on the fourth anniversary of his death.
‘There is not a day that goes by without me thinking about your beautiful smile,’ she wrote. ‘We miss you, thank you for watching over us my love. I love you. Céline xx.’
In September 2019, she said on Today that she wasn’t ready to date after losing her husband to throat cancer.
‘I don’t date. I’m not ready to date,’ she admitted. ‘I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh.’
WHAT IS STIFF PERSON SYNDROME?
Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare, progressive neurological disorder. Symptoms may include: Stiff muscles in the trunk (torso), arms, and legs. Greater sensitivity to noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms, according to NIH.
Over time people with SPS may develop hunched over postures. Some people may be too disabled to walk or move. Many fall frequently because they do not have the normal reflexes to catch themselves. This can lead to serious injuries. People with SPS may be afraid to leave the house because street noises, such as the sound of a car horn, can trigger spasms and falls.
Who is more likely to get stiff-person syndrome?
SPS affects twice as many females as males.
It is frequently associated with other autoimmune diseases such as type-I diabetes, thyroiditis, vitiligo, and pernicious anemia.
Scientists don’t yet understand what causes SPS, but research indicates that it is the result of an autoimmune response gone awry in the brain and spinal cord.
How is stiff-person syndrome diagnosed and treated?
Diagnosing SPS
SPS is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, psychosomatic illness, or anxiety and phobia. A definitive diagnosis can be made with a blood test that measures the level of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies.
Most people with SPS have elevated (higher) levels of GAD antibodies. Antibody titers are important for the diagnosis of SPS. A titer is a laboratory test that measures the presence and amount of antibodies in blood. Elevated GAD titers, up to 10 times above normal, also are seen in diabetes but in SPS the titers are very high (at least 10 times above the range seen in diabetes) or are present in the spinal fluid.
Treating SPS
With appropriate treatment, SPS symptoms may be kept under control. Several symptoms improve with oral diazepam (an anti-anxiety and muscle relaxant drug) or with drugs that alleviate muscle spasms, such as baclofen or gabapentin.
A study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) showed that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment is effective in reducing stiffness, sensitivity to noise, touch, and stress and for improving gait and balance for people with SPS. IVIg contains immunoglobulins (natural antibodies produced by the immune system) derived from thousands of healthy donors.
INFORMATION COURTEST NIH