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Purpose: To assess the efficacy of double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) for the detection of small-bowel strictures in Crohn's disease (CD). Methods: This tertiary-referral hospital cohort study was conducted between January 2018 and May 2022. CD patients with symptoms of small-bowel stricture were enrolled sequentially. All of the patients were subjected to both computed tomography enterography (CTE) and DBE, and their symptoms of stricture were assessed using the Crohn's Disease Obstructive Score (CDOS). The diagnostic yield of DBE was compared to that of CTE, and the relationship between the DBE findings and CDOS was investigated. The factors influencing the DBE diagnosis were examined using Cox regression analysis. Results: This study included 165 CD patients. The CDOS scores were higher in 95 patients and lower in 70 patients. DBE detected 92.7% (153/165) and CTE detected 85.5% (141/165) of the strictures. The DBE diagnostic yields were 94.7% (90/95) in the high CDOS patients and 91.4% (64/70) in the low CDOS patients (P = 0.13). Patients with a history of abdominal surgery and abscess had a lower diagnosis rate in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: DBE has been demonstrated to be an efficient diagnostic method for detecting small bowel strictures in CD patients. Additionally, there was no difference in the diagnostic yields between patients with low and high obstructive scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The reduction in androgen level gives rise to a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle strength, but the exact mechanisms are unclear. We investigated the roles of novel cytokines of sclerostin and irisin on bone and muscle of orchiectomized rats.Methods: Twenty 3-month-old male rats were randomized to receive sham or orchiectomy (ORX) operation. Rats were euthanized after 8 weeks of surgery, and serum levels of sclerostin and irisin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at baseline and execution. Grip strength was measured by a grip strength tester at baseline and before execution. BMD and bone microarchitecture were measured by microcomputed tomography. The samples of bone and muscle were harvested at execution. Bone biomechanics were measured by three-point bending tests and vertebral body indentation tests. Bone and muscle histological features were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin stain, Von Kossa's stain and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase stain. Simple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the relationships between serum levels of sclerostin, irisin and grip strength and BMD of ORX rats.Results: Serum sclerostin level increased from 279 ± 44 pg/mL to 586 ± 57 pg/mL since baseline to 8 weeks after ORX (P = 0.002), which was significantly higher than that in sham rats (406 ± 20 pg/mL at execution) (P = 0.012). Serum irisin level decreased from 4.12 ± 0.20 ng/mL to 3.55 ± 0.29 ng/mL since baseline to 8 weeks of ORX (P = 0.048), which was significantly lower than sham rats (4.84 ± 0.37 pg/mL at execution) (P = 0.013). Trabecular BMD, parameters of bone microarchitecture, bone strength, grip strength and the myofibers size of soleus muscles were significantly lower in ORX rats than in sham group. Grip strength was positively correlated with femoral trabecular BMD (r = 0.713, P < 0.001) and bone volume/total volume (r = 0.712, P < 0.001) in all rats. The serum sclerostin level was negatively correlated to femoral trabecular BMD (r = -0.508, P = 0.022) and grip strength (r = -0.492, P = 0.028). Serum irisin level was positively correlated with femoral trabecular BMD (r = 0.597, P = 0.005), but no obvious correlation was found between irisin level and muscle strength in all rats.Conclusions: Reduced BMD, impaired bone microarchitecture, weak strength of bone and muscle, and thin myofibers were induced by androgen deficiency of ORX rats. Serum sclerostin and irisin levels were significantly changed after ORX, which might be closely correlated with the occurrence of osteoporosis and sarcopenia in ORX rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]