The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Department of Aged Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, the Spinal Injuries Unit, and the Department of Neonatal Medicine, and Prof Bruce Robinson, Department of Endocrinology, at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, and the Spinal Injuries Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital. Additional acknowledgements are extended to Prof Les Irwig and Dr John Caplehorn, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sydney; Ms Keiko Hirano, Sumitomo Pharamaceuticals, Osaka; Dr Norbert H Luig; Dr Eric Ho; Ms Peggy Chen; Professor Kunio Takaoka, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine; Prof William Gillespie, Prof Marc Swiontkowski, Dr Janet Wale, Dr Patrick Manning, Mr Peter Herbison, Mrs Lesley Gillespie (Cochrane Collaboration); and Dr Samuel Stover, Spain Rehabilitation Center, Birmingham, Alabama. We also thank Prof Trevor Sheldon (external referee) for his comments on the completed review.