The 56-year-old Canadian singer suffers from stiff man syndrome, which forced her to interrupt her career.
Questioned by France Bleu, Dr Christian Jorgensen of the IHU in Montpellier said he was able to help him.
He estimates the amount needed to initiate research into this rare disease at 10 million euros.
Any hope for Celine Dion? While a documentary available on Prime Video shows the singer victim of violent muscle spasms, consequences of stiff man syndrome, a rare neurological disease, a French researcher offers to help her. “If someone today comes with 10 million euros and tells me ‘make me a bio-medicine’, I do“, declared to France Bleu Dr Christian Jorgensen, director of the university hospital institute of Montpellier.
The researcher explains that his teams are currently mobilized “200%” on three diseases, lupus, polyarthritis and scleroderma, with conclusive results. “We can target and destroy the immune cells that produce antibodies that turn against the body itself. Today, we do it to treat polyarthritis and lupus, we know how to do it“, he insists.
Maybe with the press it can get to her
Le Dr Christian Jorgensen
Affecting at most 50 people in France, stiff man syndrome suffers from a lack of funding. This is why he appeals directly to the star. “I think that for her, 10 million euros is not much“, estime Christian Jorgensen. “First, it would give a boost to research for the small rare disease community and then, fairly quickly, we could offer a specific solution..”
The researcher reveals having already contacted Celine Dion’s teams last year, without result. “It didn’t work out, it was still very complicated to get her to come to Montpellier“, he says. “The entourage of stars is always a little strange, a little vague, not very concrete (…) I don’t think Celine Dion herself had a concrete proposal but maybe with the press it could reach her.“
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Céline Dion, 56, has not returned to the stage since 2020 and the interruption of a major world tour which was to pass through France. In interviews she has given in recent weeks as part of the documentary dedicated to her by director Irene Taylor Brodsky, the singer explains having taken different treatments to alleviate the pain linked to the disease, often in vain.
Gradually, the star admits to having switched to stronger medications, “very dangerous“like Valium.”At first, it helped a little but, very quickly, the doses had to increase. I got scared because it didn’t work anymore“, she declared Anne-Claire Coudray on TF1. Despite the rumors, the singer does not give any timetable for her possible return to the stage.
