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Osteopontin - Obesity - Scoliosis

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  • Osteopontin - Obesity - Scoliosis

    For anyone new to this conversation high levels of Osteopontin have been implicated as the cause of Scoliosis. (Source)

    The following study found that plasma levels of OPN increase during obesity.
    Osteopontin mediates obesity-induced adipose tissue macrophage infiltration and insulin resistance in mice

    we investigated the expression of OPN in adipose tissue and examined the role of OPN for macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue.
    these results suggest that OPN plasma levels increase during obesity and that during DIO (Diet Induced Obesity) OPN mRNA is primarily expressed by ATMs accumulating in adipose tissue.
    Long story short being fat increases the amount of Osteopontin floating around in blood.

    That makes this story all the more interesting,

    Bracing Is Less Effective In Overweight Teens With Scoliosis

    Almost half of all teens had a successful outcome following brace treatment, which researchers defined as no more than a five degree increase in the primary curve from brace initiation to discontinuation. However, among overweight patients, only 29 percent were treated successfully and 44 percent required surgery.
    "It's possible that extra body fat, particularly around the abdomen, ribs, hips and lower back, hinder the brace's ability to transmit corrective forces to the spine, resulting in less curve correction," said Sponseller.
    This story if from 2003 long before Osteopontin was on anyone's radar. If these scientists had been aware of OPN their conclusion might have been quite different.
    Last edited by Dingo; 12-10-2009, 01:24 PM.

  • #2
    But, isn't that relationship the exact opposite of what we see? Every picture I've seen posted of a young person with scoliosis shows some tall, scrawny kid. If obesity raised the level, wouldn't we be seeing a bunch of chunky kids with scoliosis?

    Comment


    • #3
      tall and lanky

      hdugger

      When I think of Scoliosis I think of a tall, lanky kid. And I know that being tall or less messomorphic is a risk factor for curve progression.

      However... research is research. The overweight kids in that study suffered significantly more curve progression. Now that scientists know that OPN is involved those results make more sense.
      Last edited by Dingo; 12-10-2009, 01:56 PM.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Dingo View Post
        hdugger
        However... research is research. The overweight kids in that study suffered significantly more curve progression. Now that scientists know that OPN is involved those results make more sense.
        Obesity is one of those things that's tied to so many risk factors that it's hard to parse it out. For example, I think that reduced muscle strength (either asymetrical or simply poor), plays a role in progression (pet theory #1 . That would also tie into ectomorphs getting scoliosis (since they have less muscle mass). And, it might also explain why, when obese children have scoliosis, they tend to advance (because obese children, one would assume, were less fit and had less muscle mass).

        Tangential but for illustration, the swine flu mainly hits young people - they're treated and hospitalized at a higher rate (compared to regular season flu) then any other age group. However, among the sickest of the sick (those who are hospitalized), people over 50 are most likely to die. So, they're not the ones most likely to be hospitalized, but they're the most likely of the hospitalized patients to die.

        OTOH, maybe it's just because braces don't fit chunky kids as well

        Edit: Oh yeah, reading the report they think it's that braces don't fit chunky kids as well. In another link to the article, http://aapgrandrounds.aappublication...xtract/14/5/52, they also mention that chunky kids are diagnosed later - "because in the obese child, a spinal deformity can be difficult to detect until it becomes quite pronounced." However, I'm not seeing anything in the reports that directly backs up either of these theories.

        On another tangential note, if they can actually show that it's due to the way that the brace fit, that would add weight to the idea that bracing does have some effect.
        Last edited by hdugger; 12-10-2009, 02:18 PM.

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        • #5
          In a group physiotherapy programme in hospital, we were told that every extra pound of weight on our abdomens places an extra seven pounds of stress on the spine.

          Could it be possible that fat kids are less likely to get scoliosis in the first place, but if they do get scoliosis then their curves progress due to the extra weight they carry pulling on their spines?

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          • #6
            I know I'm a little late in this conversation, but I would like to know what is the ratio of overweight to average/below weight people with scoliosis. Most people I have EVER seen with scoliosis look to be average/below weight. If more heavy people get it then maybe the research would have some validity, otherwise it just doesn't apply in general.
            Be happy!
            We don't know what tomorrow brings,
            but we are alive today!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by rohrer01 View Post
              I know I'm a little late in this conversation, but I would like to know what is the ratio of overweight to average/below weight people with scoliosis. Most people I have EVER seen with scoliosis look to be average/below weight. If more heavy people get it then maybe the research would have some validity, otherwise it just doesn't apply in general.
              Most published research results are false.


              http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327/

              Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
              John P. A. Ioannidis


              Abstract
              Summary
              There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false. The probability that a research claim is true may depend on study power and bias, the number of other studies on the same question, and, importantly, the ratio of true to no relationships among the relationships probed in each scientific field. In this framework, a research finding is less likely to be true when the studies conducted in a field are smaller; when effect sizes are smaller; when there is a greater number and lesser preselection of tested relationships; where there is greater flexibility in designs, definitions, outcomes, and analytical modes; when there is greater financial and other interest and prejudice; and when more teams are involved in a scientific field in chase of statistical significance. Simulations show that for most study designs and settings, it is more likely for a research claim to be false than true. Moreover, for many current scientific fields, claimed research findings may often be simply accurate measures of the prevailing bias. In this essay, I discuss the implications of these problems for the conduct and interpretation of research.
              Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

              No island of sanity.

              Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
              Answer: Medicine


              "We are all African."

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by rohrer01 View Post
                I know I'm a little late in this conversation, but I would like to know what is the ratio of overweight to average/below weight people with scoliosis. Most people I have EVER seen with scoliosis look to be average/below weight. If more heavy people get it then maybe the research would have some validity, otherwise it just doesn't apply in general.
                I agree. It must have been post-op day at the clinic when i went for my 8week post-op appt and i did not see one overweight person there!
                Vali
                44 years young! now 45
                Surgery - June 1st, 2009
                Dr David Hall - Adelaide Spine Clinic
                St. Andrews Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
                Pre-op curve - 58 degree lumbar
                Post -op - 5 degrees
                T11 - S1 Posterior
                L4/5 - L5/S1 Anterior Fusion

                Comment


                • #9
                  it's complicated

                  Anecdotally (and ironically) I've heard that the rate of Scoliosis is lower in overweight people. Who knows, fat may have both a positive and negative impact depending on what level you look at.

                  Nevertheless I'd avoid packing on any pounds if I had Scoliosis.... or for that matter if I didn't have Scoliosis.

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