Appeals: The Scoliosis Research Trust

Arise, the Scoliosis Research Trust, works to combat scoliosis, a deforming condition which causes the spine of a growing child to curve and twist so that the body becomes disfigured and disabled. The back is deformed and there can be breathing difficulties. How it develops - at the moment it occurs in one in every 200 children - is not known, but considerable success has been achieved with the non-surgical treatment of infants whose condition can be corrected if diagnosed early enough and treated with specialised techniques. So far the trust, which aims to raise money for research into the condition and to train experts in its treatment, has established a unit within a hospital - the first step in creating its own national scoliosis centre. It needs to raise pounds 30,000 to give training in these specialised remedial techniques and to increase public awareness of the problem.

The Scoliosis Research Trust, Graham Hill Unit, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 4LP, telephone 081-954 8939.