Celebrities With Sjogrens Syndrome: Venus Williams, Nina Rawls, Shannon Boxx. What is Sjogren’s Syndrome? How common is it? What are the clues that a person may have this condition? And who of our favorite famous people are living with the condition?

According to the NHS website (nhs.uk), Sjogren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder whereby a person’s immune system, instead of protecting the body from illness or infection, attacks said person’s glands that secrete fluid, such as the tear and saliva. This reduces “the production of tears and saliva, causing the main symptoms of Sjögren’s syndrome, which are dry eyes and dry mouth”.

Sjogren’s syndrome is the third most common rheumatic autoimmune disorder behind only rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus according to wikipedia. There is no definitive data on its prevalence but some reports state that the condition affects up to 3% of the population. According to the Sjogren Syndrome Foundation, as many as 4 million Americans are living with this disease.

Continue reading Celebrities With Sjogrens Syndrome: Venus Williams, Nina Rawls, Shannon Boxx →

Celebrities With Huntingtons Disease. What is Huntington’s Disease? Named after American physician George Huntington, who was the first to describe the condition, Huntington’s disease is an inheritable neurological disorder which affects movement, cognition (perception, awareness, thinking, judgement), and behavior and which gets progressively worse over time.

Symptoms of the disease most often manifests between the ages 35 to 55 years old. Nonetheless, features of the disease can also show from as early as infancy to the late stages of a person’s life.

Continue reading Celebrities With Huntingtons Disease →

Jeremy Stenberg: Tourette Syndrome Interview. We met him in an earlier post — Celebrities with Tourette Syndrome — but we decided to post this Jeremy Stenberg interview because it is instructive and inspiring. It paints a portrait of a young man living with TS who embraced his condition and who is very successful at what he does.

This interview is lifted from a newsletter issued by the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA). TSA is an organization which leads public education and awareness campaigns on TS. It also funds research focused on understanding the disease (particularly what causes it) and the ways by which it can be cured.

Continue reading Jeremy Stenberg: Tourette Syndrome Interview →

Celebrities With Tourette Syndrome. Named after French doctor Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who was the first person to describe it and its symptoms, Tourette syndrome is a condition characterized by repetitive persistent involuntary movements and vocalizations. According to a the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), one of every 360 American children ages 6 through 17 years old have been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette’s is found to co-occur with other mental health, behavioral, or developmental condition. Specifically, a CDCP study found that 86% of children with Tourette’s have also been diagnosed with any of the following: Continue reading Celebrities With Tourette Syndrome →