September 16, 2016
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND — Use of dietary supplements may constitute a new treatment approach for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis based on 2-year results of a randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial.
Lam Tsz-Ping, MBBS, FRCS(Edin), FHKAM (Orthopaedic Surgery),presented the findings at the British Orthopaedic Association Annual (BOA) Congress, here. Ping, who is the BOA Hong Kong Young Ambassador, said adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) has been associated with low bone mass.
“Supplementation can improve bone health in [AIS] patients,” he said, noting there was improvement in the various bone density parameters used in the two groups of patients studied who received supplementation compared to placebo.
The study, conducted at Chinese University of Hong Kong, looked at the ability of calcium and vitamin D supplementation to prevent curve progression in girls with AIS aged 11 years to 14 years with a Cobb angle of 15° or more and low bone mass. Three-hundred thirty patients were randomized to three groups of 110 patients in each group. The low-dose vitamin D group received 600 mg calcium with vitamin D 400 IU daily. The high-dose vitamin D group received 600 mg calcium with vitamin D 800 IU daily, and the placebo group received placebo tablets daily. At baseline and 2 years after treatment, investigators evaluated the patients’ Cobb angle with the Scoliosis Research Society criteria and tested the patients’ spinal bone mineral density with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.
More than 80% of the patients completed the required 2 years of treatment and132 patients were included in the last follow-up analysis, which was done with standard statistical method, according to Ping. Patients and evaluators were blinded to the patient randomization.
“The results of this study provide strong evidence of an improvement of bone health in AIS patients using the supplementation, in terms of bone density and bone quality,” Ping said.
The patients’ serum vitamin D was not analyzed and bracing compliance during the study was not monitored, he noted.
“What we are witnessing here is likely the emergence of a new therapeutic approach for scoliosis. In particular, for those who have low bone density, calcium and vitamin D supplementation can be considered,” Ping said. –by Susan M. Rapp
Reference:
Tsz-Ping L. Using calcium and vitamin D supplementation to prevent curve progression in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) — A randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. Presented at: British Orthopaedic Association Annual Congress; Sept. 13-16, 2016; Belfast, Northern Ireland.