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The winning study of the SOSORT Award 2020 has been published

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Two years after winning the SOSORT AWARD, the study “Predicting final results of Brace Treatment of Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: First Out-of-Brace are Better than In-Brace-radiographs” has finally been published in the European Spine Journal.

 A total of 131 patients were included in the study, the researchers aimed to determine which of the two radiographs is the best predictor of the Cobb angle at the end of treatment (final radiograph). In fact, the in-brace radiograph of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) has been shown to reflect brace efficacy and the possibility of achieving curve correction. Conversely, the first out-of-brace radiograph could demonstrate the patient’s ability to maintain the correction.

The first out-of-brace radiograph predicts end results better than the in-brace radiograph.

“Our research has highlighted – explains Dr. Sabrina Donzelli, author of the research – how important the first x-ray taken without the brace is in predicting end-of-care results. The first out-of-brace radiograph should be considered an essential element of future predictive models and offers an excellent clinical reference for clinicians and patients. The collection of clinical data that occurs routinely during all visits to ISICO has allowed in recent years to be able to develop the so-called predictive models, i.e. we can use the characteristics of the patient to understand how the final results can be predicted or to understand if there are risk factors more important than others to consider when deciding what type of therapy to prescribe “.

eSosort2021: ISICO awarded for the third time in a row

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And the winner is: Isico! For the third consecutive year, our Institute has been awarded the highest international recognition for those involved in the rehabilitation treatment of vertebral pathologies. On Saturday, May 1st, on the occasion of the annual SOSORT conference, this year in online mode due to the pandemic, our studio “Efficacy of bracing in infantile scoliosis. A 5.5 years prospective cohort shows that idiopathic respond better than secondary” was awarded the SOSORT Award. 

It is not the first time, because only in the last two years Isico has won the coveted international recognition for the best research by SOSORT, to which is added, in 2019, the award won as co-authors of a research study in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong. A truly unique continuity.
“An award that once again certifies the high quality achieved by the scientific research carried out in our Institute at an international level – explains Prof. Stefano Negrini, scientific director of Isico and first author of the awarded research (the other authors are Dr Sabrina Donzelli, Dr Greta Jurenaite, Dr Francesco Negrini and Dr Fabio Zaina) – through this research the main goal was we have set ourselves the goal to check the results in the medium term of bracing of infantile scoliosis, comparing the two groups: idiopathic and secondary scoliosis.”
According to Mehta results, casting is considered the gold standard conservative treatment for infantile scoliosis, still casting requires repeated general anaesthesia, and recently doubts have been raised that this could cause potential brain damages in the long term. 

“In our Institute, we have been using bracing for a long time to reduce invasivity for the patient – says Prof. Negrini – Moreover, the results of the Sforzesco brace have shown to be similar to casting in adolescents. Thanks to the clinical and research experience gained over the years, we have developed a retrospective study in a prospective cohort. We have been using braces since 2004 and have been able to present the largest case history on braces to date (34 patients), with an average follow-up of 5 years, documenting excellent results in idiopathic scoliosis (success in 50% of cases – only one failure), while in those secondary to other pathologies it is possible to delay surgery over time even in the face of more frequent failures (surgery inevitable in 20% of cases)”.
We remind you that infantile scoliosis is very rare, about 1 case in 10,000 children, and for this reason, it must be treated by very expert and dedicated specialized clinics with specialists who  have been managing spine deformity for long and have a rich clinical experience
“In this context, we are also the only Italian structure that is participating in an international multicentre study, which involves clinical centres in 40 countries around the world, to verify the effectiveness of braces compared to casts – concludes prof. Negrini – During the two-year duration of the project, we will bring about 5 cases treated at our Institute for research purposes. Isico has several years of experience in the use of braces, our participation will not include the application of casts, but our results in bracing will be compared with those of other centres that apply casts”.

eSosort2021: Isico competes for the AWARD

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Isico, too will be present with several presentations at the annual international conference Sosort, online from April 29th to May 1st.
A presence, albeit virtual, characterized by the possibility of competing again for the SOSORT Award. We recall that Isico has been awarded already in the last two years the prestigious international recognition given by SOSORT for the best research, to which is added, in 2019, the Award won as co-authors of a research study in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong.

“In this online edition, our study Efficacy of bracing in infantile scoliosis. A 4-years prospective cohort shows that idiopathic respond better than secondary scoliosis will compete for the Award along with six other studies – explains Prof Stefano Negrini, scientific director of Isico and first author of the research – an important result that recognizes the high quality of the research we are performing in Isico. Also, the study Adults with idiopathic scoliosis: progression over 5 Cobb degrees is predicted by menopause and metabolic bone disease, which sees as first author Dr Sabrina Donzelli (who won the Award in 2020) was nominated among the 7 best research studies: Dr. Donzelli will hold the presentation but will not compete for the Award this year.”
In addition, another study, Increasing Brace Comfort, Durability and Sagittal Balance through Semi-rigid Pelvis Material does not change Short-Term Very-Rigid Sforzesco Brace Results, is among those selected for the Podium presentation and will be presented during the event by Dr Francesco Negrini, an Isico physiatrist.

Isico also distinguished itself for the works accepted as Posters, available to subscribers to the event in an on-demand session, and they are three: Can the tilt-differences of limiting vertebrae be a prognostic factor for the worsening of the scoliosis curves treated with specific exercises? A pilot study using a series of matched patients, edited by our director of physiotherapy, Michele Romano, Reducing the pelvis constriction changes the sagittal plane in the brace. A retrospective case-control study of 37 free-pelvis vs 336 classical consecutive very-rigid Sforzesco braces and The modular MI-brace is as effective as the classical custom-made Sforzesco brace. A matched case-control study of 120 consecutive high-degree female AIS, both from Prof Stefano Negrini.

This year’s virtual meeting will begin with synchronous (live) presentations on Thursday, April 29th and Friday, April 30th, from 9 am to 11 am Eastern Time, and on Saturday, May 1st, from 9 am to 1 pm Eastern Time.

All the presentations will be recorded and be made available on-demand for a duration of 1 year on the SOSORT conference website for registered participants. For more information and registration, visit the event website https://esosort21.sosort.org

And the Sosort Award winner is… Isico!

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At the International Sosort Meeting in June, this year held for the first time ever entirely online, Isico recorded another great success.

Dr Sabrina Donzelli, Isico physiatrist, won the Sosort Award, the event’s top prize, for her research entitled: “Predicting final results of Brace Treatment of Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: First Out-of-Brace are Better than In-Brace-radiographs”. Her study was chosen over the work of 7 other researchers in the running for the award.

Among eight studies selected as oral presentations, the Scientific Committee picked out, as the two finalists, Dr Donzelli’s research study and a study on the genetics of scoliosis by the Montreal-based research group led by Prof A Moreau. “After the initial selection we were asked to submit a complete article to be entered for the Sosort Award” explains Dr Donzelli. “The prize, for the winning study, is a sum of money allowing it to be published in any magazine, as an open-access article, in other words in a format accessible, free of charge, to anyone who might be interested in reading it”.

The other studies running for the award included a long-term follow up of patients with scoliosis, presented by Dr AG Aulisa, a cost analysis of conservative versus surgical treatment, and two studies on Scolioscan©, the ultrasound equipment present as well at Isico’s Milan clinic. 

“Our winning research underlines how important patients’ first out-of-brace radiographs are for predicting the results at the end of their course of treatment,” Dr Donzelli goes on. “The accuracy of the model we developed and tested, is the key factor that won us this prestigious award, which will allow us to publish our work in the coming months.” 

In the course of the online meeting, several of our specialists gave presentations: Alessandra Negrini, Isico physiotherapist, asked “Is swimming helpful or harmful in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis?”, Dr Fabio Zaina, Isico physiatrist, gave a presentation entitled “ISYQOL, a Rasch consistent tool for quality of life evaluation in scoliosis patients during adulthood: comparison with the gold standard”, while our director of physiotherapy, Michele Romano, spoke about “The effect of dance performance on idiopathic scoliosis progression in adolescents”.

This is the second year running that Isico has not only been among the finalists but also gone on to win the award. 

In 2019, Isico also won an award with a study concerning scoliosis and sport. “The quality of our research has increased not only as a result of our acquisition of increasingly high-level methodological skills, but also thanks to the growing availability of systematically collected data,” explains Dr Donzelli. “In recent years, the data we routinely collect from patients visiting our facilities have allowed us to develop so-called predictive models. In other words, we consider the characteristics of large groups of patients to try and understand whether they allow us to predict their final results, or whether certain risk factors are more important to consider than others when deciding what type of therapy to prescribe. Our growing clinical and research expertise has led to international collaborations. Many others now look to us to provide expert support. We are also seeing an increase in our collaborations with international partners that want to analyse and compare their clinical and radiographic data with our database”.