'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Canadian singer Celine Dion announced last year she'd been diagnosed with a medical condition that has since prompted the cancellation of many of her concerts.
Dion, 54, said she was recently diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS), also called Moersch-Woltman syndrome. It’s a rare neurological condition that gives people painful muscle spasms. There is no cure for the disease.
"I've always been an open book," Dion says in the emotional video. "And I wasn't ready to say anything before. But I'm ready now… I have been dealing with problems with my health for a long time."
SPS is described by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as a disorder with "features" of an autoimmune disorder. It impacts the central nervous system and causes a person to have heightened sensitivity to noise, touch and emotional distress.
"Most commonly, it affects the muscle skeletal system where people have really a significant amount of pain, spasms that can really affect any muscle within the body," Dr. Scott Newsome, a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine told CTV News Channel in December.
Newsome says the disease is becoming increasingly known because there are more symptoms associated with it including eye muscle issues and gut problems.
"It likely is under-recognized," he said.
Hunched over or stiffened posture is a characteristic of someone dealing with SPS, the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says. Newsome says it affects twice as many women as men.
For Dion, this condition is impacting her ability to perform.
"The spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to," Dion said in the Instagram video.
Newsome says people usually diagnosed with SPS are in their 40s or 50s, but it can affect children and older adults as well.
Although researchers are not sure what causes SPS, Newsome says there are ways to relieve the pain and symptoms.
"My approach is looking at this from a multifaceted treatment approach," Newsome said. "The gold standard is treating people with muscle relaxers, but given that it's an autoimmune condition, we do use immune-related therapies to help and then other non-pharmacologic therapies (like) occupational therapy."
As for Dion's specific case, Newsome says having a "full team" will help her achieve some sort of normalcy again.
"Keeping the holistic treatment at the forefront for treating people with this condition, I do think people can improve their quality of life," he said.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.