The Editor-in-Chief and the Medical Editors at BioMed Central have retracted this article [1] because the first author did not fully declare his association with Koob Scolitech, which holds the rights in and to the Spinealite brace and has filed for a patent for that brace. Furthermore, the direct association between Koob Scolitech and the Spinealite brace was not made clear in the article. Thi...

Introduction Trunk deformity in idiopathic scoliosis has been fully analyzed using different surface metrics but all of them are expensive and cannot be widely used. Recently it has been suggested that some measures of trunk deformity obtained in digital photography can be useful in the assessment of trunk deformity. Some asymmetry measures have been proposed but the relationship between these ...

Central disorders of hypersomnolence (CDH) are characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness not related to comorbid sleep or medical disturbances. We systematically examined scientific literature on cognitive functions in patients suffering from CDH. Forty-eight studies proved eligible and were analyzed separately for Narcolepsy Type 1 (NT1), 2 (NT2), Idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) Kleine-Levin s...

Kleine-Levin syndrome is a rare, sporadic disorder, with discrete spells of hypersomnolence occurring during adolescence, variously accompanied by megaphagia, behavioral changes, psychosis, and mild autonomic symptoms. Familial cases have not previously been reported. We describe 2 siblings who shared uncharacteristically prolonged episodes of hypersomnolence, and the HLA-DR2 haplotype. In one ...

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (A.I.S.) is a three dimensional deformity of the spine defined as a series of vertebral segments placed in extension, which deflect and axially rotate towards the same side. It represents the combination of torsional regions joined by junctional zones. Established biological risk factors of A.I.S. are growth velocity and potential residual spinal growth assessed ...

BACKGROUND Aesthetics is a main goal of both conservative and surgical treatments in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Previously, we developed and validated a clinical scale - the Aesthetic Index (AI)--in order to measure aesthetic impairment and changes during treatment. AIM To verify the efficacy of bracing on aesthetics in AIS. STUDY DESIGN Prospective Cohort Study. POPULATION Th...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of school scoliosis screening using a large and long-term-followed cohort of students in Hong Kong. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA School screening for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has been criticized as resulting in over-referrals for radiography and having low predictive values. Indeed, all but one pr...

BACKGROUND Since the time of Paul Harrington numerous implants have been introduced for correction of scoliosis, but none are ideal. Newer devices are very expensive, and in our country some patients cannot afford them. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the results of the Harrington rod (HR) device and the newer Cotrel-Dubousset (CD) device in treatment of adolescent idiopathic ...

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) is a term that describes short stature in children who do not have growth hormone (GH) deficiency and in whom the etiology of the short stature is not identified. Between 1985 and 2000, more than 40 studies were published regarding GH therapy for ISS. Only 12 of these had data to adult height, of which only 4 were controlled studies. A subsequent placebo-controlle...