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Review
. 2008 Dec;32(6):729-34.
doi: 10.1007/s00264-007-0393-y. Epub 2007 Jun 16.

Recent advances in the aetiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Kenneth M C Cheung  1 , T Wang, G X Qiu, Keith D K Luk
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in the aetiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Kenneth M C Cheung et al. Int Orthop. 2008 Dec.

Abstract
in English, French

The aetiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is still unknown despite many years of research effort. Theories on AIS's aetiology have included mechanical, hormonal, metabolic, neuromuscular, growth, and genetic abnormalities. Amongst these, some factors may be epiphenomena rather than the cause itself. Other factors may even contribute to curve progression, rather than curve initiation. Current views maintain that AIS is a multifactorial disease with genetic predisposing factors [Lowe et al. in J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 82:1157-1168, 2000]. With improvements in diagnostic methods, imaging and genomics, there has been considerable recent work on aetiology. This review aims to bring readers up-to-date with the latest developments in scoliosis research.

L’étiologie de la scoliose idiopathique de l’adolescent (AIS) reste inconnue en dépit de nombreux travaux et de nombreux efforts de recherche. Dans les théories voulant expliquer une scoliose, on cherche à mettre en évidence des facteurs mécaniques, hormonaux, métaboliques, neuro musculaires, au niveau de la croissance mais aussi des anomalies d’origine génétique. Parmi tous ces facteurs, certains d’entre eux sont des épiphénomènes, certains facteurs peuvent contribuer à la progression de la courbure scoliotique ou à son apparition. De nombreux points de vue permettent de penser que l’AIS est une maladie d’origine multi factorielle avec des facteurs prédisposant d’origines génétiques. L’amélioration des méthodes de diagnostic, d’imageries et d’analyses génétiques contribue à mieux approcher cette étiologie. Ce travail a pour but de mettre en évidence les facteurs les plus actuels dont on peut penser qu’ils sont à l’origine du développement d’une scoliose.

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