Recent advances in the aetiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

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.