Scoliosis an adolescent's growth spurt and is more often diagnosed in females than males. Scoliosis associated with known syndromes is often subclassified as "syndromic scoliosis". Scoliosis can be associated with amniotic band syndrome, Arnold–Chiari malformation, Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, cerebral palsy, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, connective tissue disorders, muscular dystrophy, familial dysautonomia, CHARGE syndrome, Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hyperflexibility, "floppy baby" syndrome, and other variants of the condition), fragile X syndrome, Friedreich's ataxia, hemihypertrophy, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan's syndrome, nail–patella syndrome, neurofibromatosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, Prader–Willi syndrome, proteus syndrome, spina bifida, spinal muscular atrophy and syringomyelia. Another form of secondary scoliosis is the degenerative scoliosis which develops later
The Gifts of the Body the patients and the caregiver. The book contains ten short stories, the titles of each being associated with "gifts" which are various functions of the body, both physical and emotional: sweat, wholeness, tears, skin, hunger, mobility, death, speech, sight, hope, and mourning. The caregiver experiences each "gift", as he/she deals with patients who have AIDS, showing the different shared relationships in each case. Each patient is a distinct case, differing in terms of age, financial situation, attitude toward the illness etc., showing the reader that this disease affects all types of people. The book is written in the "no-frills style"