November 9, 2026, 11 a.m. ET
A new treatment for stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that recently gained 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 in participants treated with chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy, or CAR-T cell therapy, which transforms a patient’s immune cells to target pathological cells.
“What was most striking was the degree of improvement we saw in some patients,” Dr. Anastasia Zekeridou, a neurologist and researcher at the Mayo Clinic, said in a press release. “With existing treatments, we may be able to improve symptoms, but very rarely do we see patients return to their previous level of function.”
Although these results are early, they are “very encouraging,” Zekeridou added.
“The key question now is whether these improvements will be sustainable over time,” she said.
Stiff person syndrome affects one or two people in a million, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“It’s a disease characterized by progressive muscle stiffness, muscle spasms, rigidity – usually in the back muscles, particularly the lower back, as well as the upper legs,” Dr. Kunal Desai, a neurologist at Yale Medicine and assistant professor of neurology specializing in neuromuscular diseases, told USA TODAY.
Stiffness or spasms can be triggered by environmental factors such as “sudden movements, cold temperature, or unexpected loud noises,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
One study participant, whose symptoms ranged from severe leg cramps to muscle stiffness and falls, said the therapy made walking on a treadmill possible again, according to the release. Another participant, who needed help walking and performing basic daily tasks, returned to work without experiencing a single episode after receiving treatment.
“The results regarding stiff person syndrome offer tremendous hope, not only for people living with this disease, but potentially for patients suffering from other immune-mediated neurological conditions for which effective treatment options remain limited,” Dr. Sean Pittock, chairman of the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, said in the release. “We still have a lot to learn, but this opens an exciting new path in this field.”
Dion, who was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in 2022 after years of battling symptoms, described trying to overcome the health battle as “one of the most difficult experiences” of her life.
In an August interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the 58-year-old singer said the pain sometimes became so debilitating 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, voice therapy and immunotherapy, according to the outlet.
After Dion canceled her final world tour shows in May 2023, she returned to the stage in October for a five-week residency in Paris.
Contributors: Sameen Chaudhry and Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
Gn Health
