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The role of pineal gland volume in the development of scoliosis

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Abstract

Purpose

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is believed to be caused by genetic, neurological, osseous growth anomalies, histological variables including muscle fiber percentage and core structure changes, metabolic and hormonal dysfunction, vestibular dysfunction, and platelet microarchitecture. The objective of this study was to contribute to the determination of the cause of AIS by analyzing the changes in pineal gland volume in AIS cases.

Methods

Study (AIS) and control group were each comprised of 26 patients who met the inclusion requirements. Scoliosis radiograph and MRI of the pineal glands were used for radiological examinations. The distribution of age, gender, Risser grading for skeletal radiological development, and sexual maturation according to Tanner categorization were uniform and statistically insignificant between groups.

Results

When the pineal gland volumes of the cases were evaluated according to age, the AIS group was found to have significantly reduced pineal gland volumes in all age groups. The pineal gland volume was found to be 38.1% lower in the AIS group compared to the control group (p˂0.001). In the AIS group, patients aged 13 years had the lowest pineal gland volume (77.2 ± 13.86 mm3), while patients aged 15 years had the highest volume (97.9 ± 16.47 mm3).

Conclusion

Changes in pineal gland volume support the role of the pineal gland in the etiopathogenesis of AIS.

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Funding

This study was not funded by any commissions of public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors for the conduct of research, study design, and collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data writing the report, and/or decision of the article for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kayseri City Education and Training Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Kayseri Şehir Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Kliniği Ortopedi 3 Servisi, Psikiatri Kulesi 1. Kat, 38039, Kayseri, Kocasinan, Turkey

    Sabri Batın, Yakup Ekinci & Kaan Gürbüz

  2. Hitit University, Vocational College of Sungurlu, Çorum, Turkey

    Ahmet Payas

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

    Erdal Kurtoğlu, İlyas Uçar & Erdoğan Unur

  4. Radiology Department, Kayseri City Education and Training Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey

    Turgut Seber

  5. Aksaray Ortaköy Public Hospital, Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Aksaray, Turkey

    Mustafa Arık

  6. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey

    Halil Yılmaz

Authors
  1. Sabri Batın
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  2. Yakup Ekinci
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  7. Turgut Seber
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yakup Ekinci.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the local Clinical Research Ethics Committee numbered 2021/538. All procedures were performed in the Kayseri City Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from each patient. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Batın, S., Ekinci, Y., Gürbüz, K. et al. The role of pineal gland volume in the development of scoliosis. Eur Spine J 32, 181–189 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-022-07452-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-022-07452-z

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