A new treatment for stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that has gained recent attention after Celine Dion's diagnosis, has shown promising early results, according to a new study.
In the study, published Nov. 9 in JAMA Neurology, researchers found evidence of substantial improvement among participants treated with chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy, or CAR-T cell therapy, which transforms a patient's immune cells to target disease cells.
"What was most striking was the degree of improvement we saw in some patients," Dr. Anastasia Zekeridou, a neurologist and researcher at Mayo Clinic, said in a news release. "With existing treatments, we may be able to improve symptoms, but we very rarely see patients return to their previous
level of function."
While these results are early, they've "very encouraging," Zekeridou added.
"The key question now is whether those improvements will be sustained over time," she said.
Stiff person syndrome affects one or two in every 1 million people, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
"It's a disease that's characterized by progressive muscle stiffness, muscle spasms, rigidity – typically in the muscles of the back, specifically the lower back, as well as the upper legs," Dr. Kunal Desai, a Yale Medicine neurologist and assistant professor of neurology who specializes in neuromuscular disease, previously told USA TODAY.
Stiffness or spasms can be triggered by environmental factors such as "sudden movement, cold temperature or unexpected loud noises," according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
One study participant, whose symptoms ranged from severe leg cramps to muscle rigidity and falls, said the therapy made walking on a treadmill possible again, according to the release. Another participant, who needed help with walking and basic daily tasks, has resumed working without having a single episode after receiving the treatment.
"The results in stiff person syndrome offer tremendous hope, not only for people living with this disease but potentially for patients with other immune-mediated neurologic conditions where effective treatment options remain limited," Dr. Sean Pittock, chair of the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, said in the release. "There is still much we need to learn, but this opens an exciting new avenue for the field."
Dion, who was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in 2022 after years of struggling with symptoms, described trying to overcome the health battle as "one of the hardest experiences" of her life.
In an August interview with Harper's Bazaar, the singer, 58, said the pain became so debilitating at times that she could barely walk, sometimes relying on high doses of Valium to function.
She has also undergone extensive treatment since her diagnosis, including medication, physical therapy, vocal therapy and immunotherapy, according to the outlet.
After Dion canceled her remaining world tour shows in May 2023, she returned to the stage in October for a five-week residency in Paris.
Contributing: Sameen Chaudhry and Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Treatment for Celine Dion's diagnosis shows promising early results
