During the 56th Annual Meeting of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), held in St. Louis, MO, USA, last month, members announced the 2021 SRS Research Agenda.
The agenda is the culmination of several months of audit, investigation, and interviews with not only members but also 15 external partners, other spinal societies, and study groups, including funding partners.
In addition, the SRS Research Council surveyed members to uncover the topics they were researching and search for gaps. More than 76 percent of respondents had participated in a spinal deformity research project within the past three years.
Together members identified trending themes in spinal research and innovation that will influence fields of study for the coming three-to-five years.
Agenda topics include:
1. Pediatric and Young Adult High Grade Spondylolisthesis
2. Identifying the optimal evaluation of pulmonary function to follow for pediatric spine deformity
3. Study of syndromic and other rare deformities (e.g. SMA, pediatric cervical spine, etc)
4. Growth modulation (e.g. anterior vertebral body tethering)
5. Carcinogenic Effects of (Cobalt Chrome) Implants
6. Global screening program for AIS
7. Prediction and modelling
8. Etiology
9. Non-Op Treatment of AIS (Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis Specific Exercises (PSSE) and night-time bracing)
10. Long-term outcomes of pediatric and adolescent spinal deformity
11. Natural history of AIS
12. Natural history of degenerative adult spinal deformity
13. Non-Operative Treatment of Adult spinal deformity: Evaluating and defining conservative care in ASD
14. Sarcopenia/osteoporosis/frailty in pathogenesis of ASD
“This agenda was developed after polling our membership and months of interviews with our stakeholders and other collaborators,” said Doug Burton, MD, chair of the SRS Research Council. “It is a comprehensive array of unanswered questions to help us understand the causes of scoliosis, the best ways to treat patients without surgery, and if surgery is needed, how to do it in the least invasive way possible while preserving the maximal amount of spinal motion. This applies to our youngest and oldest patients around the world.”
For more information on the Research Agenda and SRS Grant opportunities, visit our website. To contribute to research funding, review all the ways you can donate to SRS.
About Scoliosis Research Society
The Scoliosis Research Society is a non-profit, professional organization, made up of physicians and allied health personnel. Our primary focus is on providing continuing medical education for health care professionals and on funding/supporting research in spinal deformities. Founded in 1966, SRS has gained recognition as the world's premier spine deformity society. Please visit www.srs.org for further information. Also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.