Asymmetry in the Onset of Paraspinal Muscles Activity Differs in Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis Compared With Those With a Symmetrical Spine.

Background: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is characterized by an asymmetrical formation of the spine and ribcage. Recent work provides evidence of asymmetrical (right versus left side) paraspinal muscle size, composition, and activation amplitude in adolescents with AIS. Each of these factors influences muscle force generation.

Achieving maximal voluntary contraction of paraspinal muscles requires two tasks: Insight from an EMG study of females with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

An accurate estimation of maximal voluntary muscle activation is critical for normalisation in scientific studies. Only a handful of studies appropriately normalise muscle activation data when investigating paraspinal muscle activity in populations such as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This neglect compromises the ability to interpret data.

Segmental deformity markers offer novel indicators of deformity progression risk in deformity-matched adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.

Purpose: Identification of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients with mild curvatures who pose significant risk of progressing to severe levels of curvatures is of paramount importance for clinical care. This study aimed to compare segmental deformity changes in AIS sub-cohorts that are dichotomised by progression status.

Methods: Thirty-six female participants with Lenke 1 AIS curves were investigated with sequential MRIs during growth.

Using B-mode ultrasound to evaluate Risser grading for the determination of skeletal maturity in adolescents.

Introduction: Rapid adolescent growth is associated with an increased risk of disease and disease progression. This study assesses the reliability and validity of non-ionising B-mode ultrasound for the assessment of skeletal maturity (Risser Grade) and offers procedural guidelines for its use.

Methods: Twenty-three female adolescents with primary-right-thoracic scoliosis (age: 13.

Comparison of physiological and behavioral nutrition-related factors in people with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, from cohort data at 8 to 20 years.

Nutrition-related variables including lower body mass index (BMI), lower bone mineral density (BMD), altered body composition and hormone levels have been reported in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The aims of this study were to determine if physiological and behavioral nutrition-related factors differ between people with and without AIS, and to quantify their relationship with AIS, in unbiased cohort sample. BMI, presence of an eating disorder, leptin, adiponectin, BMD, vitamin D, lean mass, and fat mass were compared between those with and without AIS at ages 8, 10, 14, 17, and 20 years, and multiple logistic regression was performed between these variables and AIS.

Quantifying Typical Progression of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Longitudinal Three-Dimensional MRI Measures of Disk and Vertebral Deformities.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: Detail typical three-dimensional segmental deformities and their rates of change that occur within developing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) spines over multiple timepoints.

Summary Of Background Data: AIS is a potentially progressive deforming condition that occurs in three dimensions of the scoliotic spine during periods of growth.

Quantifying Muscle Size Asymmetry in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Using Three-dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Study Design: This is a case-control study of prospectively collected data.

Objective: To quantify paraspinal muscle size asymmetry in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and determine if this asymmetry is (i) greater than observed in adolescent controls with symmetrical spines; and (ii) positively associated with skeletal maturity using Risser grade, scoliosis severity using the Cobb angle, and chronological age in years.

Summary Of Background Data: AIS is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine which occurs in 2.

Vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) is a recent procedure to correct and reduce spinal curves in skeletally immature patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the expected curve reduction and potential complications for adolescent patients after VBT.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane databases were searched until February 2022.

Development and validation of a semi-automated measurement tool for calculating consistent and reliable surface metrics describing cosmesis in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a 3D spine deformity that also causes ribcage and torso distortion. While clinical metrics are important for monitoring disorder progression, patients are often most concerned about their cosmesis. The aim of this study was to automate the quantification of AIS cosmesis metrics, which can be measured reliably from patient-specific 3D surface scans (3DSS).

Predicting spinal column profile from surface topography via 3D non-contact surface scanning.

Introduction: 3D Non-Contact surface scanning (3DSS) is used in both biomechanical and clinical studies to capture accurate 3D images of the human torso, and to better understand the shape and posture of the spine-both healthy and pathological. This study sought to determine the efficacy and accuracy of using 3DSS of the posterior torso, to determine the curvature of the spinal column in the lateral lying position.

Methods: A cohort of 50 healthy adults underwent 3DSS and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to correlate the contours of the external spine surface with the internal spinal column.

Advancing Use of DEXA Scans to Quantitatively and Qualitatively Evaluate Lateral Spinal Curves, for Preliminary Identification of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan is an emerging screening method for identifying likely adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Using DEXA in an unbiased population sample (the Raine Study), we aimed to report the inter-rater reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) for scoliosis curve angle measurement, identify likely AIS prevalence, and the concordance between reported AIS diagnosis and DEXA-identified likely AIS. Scoliosis curve angles were measured using the modified Ferguson method on DEXA scans (n = 1238) at age 20 years.

Is spinal neuromuscular function asymmetrical in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis compared to those without scoliosis?: A narrative review of surface EMG studies.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional spinal deformity occurring between ages of 10-18 years. We aimed to present a reasoned synthesis of the published evidence for and against asymmetrical paraspinal muscle activation in AIS. PubMed and Embase databases were searched using terms: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis AND electromyogra* (EMG).

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis 3D vertebral morphology, progression and nomenclature: a current concepts review.

Purpose: There has been a recent shift toward the analysis of the pathoanatomical variation of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) spine with the three dimensions, and research of level-wise vertebral body morphology in single anatomical planes is now replete within the field. In addition to providing a precise description of the osseous structures that are the focus of instrumented surgical interventions, understanding the anatomical variation between vertebral bodies will elucidate possible pathoaetiological mechanisms of the onset of scoliotic deformity.

Methods: This review aimed to discuss the current landscape of AIS segmental vertebral morphology research and provide a comprehensive report of the typical patterns observed at the individual vertebral level.

Characterization of progressive changes in pedicle morphometry and neurovascular anatomy during growth in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis versus adolescents without scoliosis.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Objectives: Investigate the progressive changes in pedicle morphometry and the spatial relationship between the pedicles and neurovascular structures in patients with AIS during growth. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a complex three-dimensional spine deformity.

Sequential MRI reveals vertebral body wedging significantly contributes to coronal plane deformity progression in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis during growth.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive, multi-stage investigation of vertebral body (VB) and intervertebral disc (IVD) coronal plane deformities for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients with a main thoracic curve type, using a series of sequential magnetic resonance images (MRIs). Despite numerous investigations of AIS deformity at the spinal segmental level, there is little consensus as to the major contributor to the lateral curvature of a scoliotic spine.

The effect of vertebral body stapling on spine biomechanics and structure using a bovine model.

Background: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a common condition affecting 2.5% of the general population. Vertebral body stapling was introduced as a method of fusionless growth modulation for the correction of moderate idiopathic scoliosis (Cobb angles of 20-40°), and was claimed to be more effective than bracing and less invasive than fusion.

Predicting spinal profile using 3D non-contact surface scanning: Changes in surface topography as a predictor of internal spinal alignment.

Introduction: 3D non-contact surface scanners capture highly accurate, calibrated images of surface topography for 3D structures. This study sought to establish the efficacy and accuracy of using 3D surface scanning to characterise spinal curvature and sagittal plane contour.

Methods: 10 healthy female adults with a mean age of 25 years, (standard deviation: 3.

Determining a reliably visible and inexpensive surface fiducial marker for use in MRI: a research study in a busy Australian Radiology Department.

Objectives: Single-use commercial surface fiducial markers are used in clinical imaging for a variety of applications. The current study sought to find a new, reliably visible, easily sourced and inexpensive fiducial marker alternative for use with MRI.

Design: Five commonly requested MRI sequences were determined (three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted, T1 coronal, 3D T2-weighted, T2 fat suppressed, proton density), to examine the visibility of 18 items (including a commercial fiducial marker).

Quantifying Anterior Chest Wall Deformity in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Correlation With Other Deformity Measures and Effects of Anterior Thoracoscopic Scoliosis Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: This study investigated how anterior chest wall deformity is affected by thoracoscopic anterior scoliosis fusion (TASF) surgery in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. We aimed to determine correlations pre- and postoperatively with other clinical and radiological scoliosis measures.

Minimizing Spine Autofusion With the Use of Semiconstrained Growing Rods for Early Onset Scoliosis in Children.

Background: A new growing rod (GR) design, the semiconstrained growing rod (SCGR), with the added advantage of axial rotation freedom within the components, has been introduced at our center which has been shown to be growth friendly. We hypothesize that the SCGR system would reduce autofusion in vivo, thereby maximizing the coronal plane correction, T1-S1 growth, and the final correction achieved at definitive fusion for children with an early onset scoliosis.

Methods: In total, 28 patients had either single or dual 5.

Is vertebral rotation correction maintained after thoracoscopic anterior scoliosis surgery? A low-dose computed tomography study.

Background: Axial vertebral rotation is a key characteristic of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), and its reduction is one of the goals of corrective surgery. Recurrence of deformity after surgical correction may relate to rotation changes that occur in the anterior vertebral column after surgery, but whether any change occurs within the fused segment or in adjacent unfused levels following thoracoscopic anterior spinal fusion (TASF) is unknown. An analysis of measurements from an existing postoperative CT dataset was performed to investigate the occurrence of inter- and intra-vertebral rotation changes after TASF within and adjacent to the fused spinal segment and look for any relationships with the Cobb angle and rib hump in the two years after surgery.

Change in Lung Volume Following Thoracoscopic Anterior Spinal Fusion Surgery: A 3-Dimensional Computed Tomography Investigation.

Study Design: Lung volumes and thoracic anatomy were measured from low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans preoperatively and 2 years following thoracoscopic anterior spinal fusion (TASF) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess changes in lung volume after TASF surgical correction.

Summary Of Background Data: AIS patients are known to have decreased pulmonary function as a consequence of their spinal and ribcage deformity.

Sequential Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals Individual Level Deformities of Vertebrae and Discs in the Growing Scoliotic Spine.

Study Design: The aim of this study was to measure contributions of individual vertebra and disc wedging to coronal Cobb angle in the growing scoliotic spine using sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Clinically, the Cobb angle measures the overall curve in the coronal plane but does not measure individual vertebra and disc wedging. It was hypothesized that patients whose deformity progresses will have different patterns of coronal wedging in vertebrae and discs to those of patients whose deformities remain stable.

Evaluating the Change in Axial Vertebral Rotation Following Thoracoscopic Anterior Scoliosis Surgery Using Low-Dose Computed Tomography.

Background Context: In recent years, there has been increasing appreciation of the need to treat scoliosis as a three-dimensional deformity.

Purpose: Assessment of surgical strategies and outcomes should consider not only the coronal plane correction but also derotation of the transverse plane deformity that can affect trunk appearance.

Study Design: This study included a cohort of 29 female adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients who received thoracoscopic single rod anterior fusion (TASF) surgery.