Spinal deformities, and particularly scoliosis, are the most frequent forms of 
orthopedic deformities in children and adolescents. About 1-6% of the population 
has scoliosis. This disorder leads to severe spinal deformities and 
predominantly affects adolescent girls.Although the multifactorial origin of 
adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is broadly recognized, the genetic causes 
of AIS are still largely unknown. Our previous studies suggested a generalized 
dysfunction of melatonin transduction (the hormone that is primarily produced in 
the brain and epiphysis). In the meantime we have demonstrated that such a 
defect of signal transduction is caused by chemical alterations, which 
inactivate the function of the inhibitory G protein-coupled melatonin receptors. 
This discovery has led to the development of the first blood test to detect 
children without symptoms who are at risk of developing scoliosis. Since a 
single function (cellular reaction to melatonin) is determined, the unique 
advantage of this test is that it can be performed without knowledge of 
mutations in defective genes that could provoke the onset of AIS.