1-800-NSF-MYBACK (673-6922)     Early Onset Scoliosis  From time
to time, the National Scoliosis Foundation receives questions
from parents about early onset or infantile scoliosis. To find
out more about this spinal abnormality, we asked Nancy Schommer,
author of Stopping Scoliosis, to interview Dr. Ronald Moskovich,
who is Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at New York
University as well as a practicing specialist in spinal
disorders at the Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic
Institute in New York City. What follows are excerpts from the
interview.  Q: Dr. Moskovich, would you give us a brief overview
of early onset scoliosis? A: It's important to know that early
onset scoliosis is idiopathic, which means we do not know what
causes it. Early onset scoliosis occurs before the age of five,
and occurs more often in boys than in girls, though we don't
know why. It was formerly referred to as 'infantile scoliosis',
a term some people still use. It also must be stressed that
early onset scoliosis is a