Scoliosis Research Society Unveils Latest Research Agenda

The latest Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) research agenda has recently been announced, following months of analysis and interviews with members, as well as 15 external partners, other spinal societies, study groups, and funding partners.

The SRS Research Council polled members regarding topics they were researching and any existing gaps. One finding was more than 76% of respondents had participated in a spinal deformity research project within the past three years. Responding members identified themes in spinal research and innovation that will likely influence fields of study for the coming three-to-five years.

These include:

• Pediatric and Young Adult High Grade Spondylolisthesis
• Identifying the optimal evaluation of pulmonary function to follow for pediatric spine deformity
• Study of syndromic and other rare deformities (e.g., Spinal Muscular Atrophy, pediatric cervical spine, etc.)
• Growth modulation (e.g., anterior vertebral body tethering)
• Carcinogenic effects of (cobalt chrome) Implants
• Global screening program for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
• Prediction and modelling
• Etiology
• Non-operative treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis Specific Exercises and night-time bracing)
• Long-term outcomes of pediatric and adolescent spinal deformity
• Natural history of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
• Natural history of degenerative adult spinal deformity
• Non-operative treatment of adult spinal deformity: Evaluating and defining conservative care in adult spinal deformity
• Sarcopenia/osteoporosis/frailty in pathogenesis of adult spinal deformity

When OTW asked about the challenges involved in this project, Doug Burton, M.D., chair of the SRS Research Council, said, “Originally, we had planned for this to be accomplished via a single large gathering of stakeholders at the SRS Annual Meeting. COVID changed that. Instead, we scheduled 15 individual Zoom meetings with stakeholders from 3 continents. This took patience, persistence, and planning.”

“Despite interviewing a wide range of stakeholders from different perspectives of the spine community, many common themes were apparent. These include a desire for a better understanding of the natural history of treated and untreated scoliosis and a desire for a better delineation of how to measure outcomes in scoliosis treatment.”

Peering into the future, Dr. Burton added, “Our approach at this point is two-pronged. We have identified the top 14 topics from our interviews with our stakeholders. We are publicizing this internally to our membership as well as externally to our fellow spine societies, study groups and industry partners. In addition, we have selected the topic of, ‘The natural history of treated or untreated idiopathic scoliosis, a 20–40-year follow-up’ as our first directed research topic.”