An evaluation of brainstem function as a prognostication of early idiopathic scoliosis.

In an attempt to elucidate whether assessment of the brainstem function helps to predict the outcome of early idiopathic scoliosis, a series of neurophysiological studies in children with idiopathic scoliosis was made cooperatively in Japan and the United States. The eye movement in 86 cases with idiopathic scoliosis in the rapidly growing ages was tested and compared with 66 normal control children. About one-half of the patients with idiopathic scoliosis demonstrated dysfunction in the brainstem test. The natural histories of the curves were available in 48 of the 86 cases in a follow-up study ranging from 6 months to 2 1/2 years. Statistically, there was a positive correlation between the brainstem dysfunction and the curve progression. It was concluded that the functional assessment of the brain center of the postural regulation system can be used in predicting the outcome of idiopathic early curves detected in the school screening program.