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Background. Bone loss is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic bone disease in patients newly diagnosed with IBD and to identify the risk factors for bone loss over time. Methods. We performed a retrospective, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, study to extract the risk factors of bone loss (including osteopenia and osteoporosis) in patients newly diagnosed with IBD, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results. A total of 639 patients newly diagnosed with IBD that had at least one DXA were included in the cross-sectional study. Osteopenia and osteoporosis were diagnosed in 24.6% and 5.4% of patients, respectively. Age at diagnosis, body mass index, and serum phosphorus were identified as independent factors associated with bone loss at baseline. A total of 380 of the 639 IBD patients (including 212 CD patients and 168 UC patients) with at least a second DXA scan were included in the longitudinal study. 42.6% of the patients presented a worsening of bone loss in the follow-up study. Menopause, albumin, and use of corticosteroids were identified as independent factors associated with worsening of bone loss. Conclusions. Metabolic bone disease is common in IBD patients, and there is a significant increase in prevalence of bone loss over time. Postmenopausal female, malnourished patients, and those requiring corticosteroid treatment are at risk for persistent bone loss. Therefore, BMD measurements and early intervention with supplementation of calcium and vitamin D are recommended in IBD patients with high-risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Guilu Erxian Jiao (GEJ) is a widely used Chinese herbal remedy for knee osteoarthritis, but its clinical efficacy is unknown. Methods. We enrolled 42 elderly male patients with knee OA, including 21 patients who received the herbal drug GEJ as the case group and 21 patients who did not receive GEJ as the control group. The effects of 12 weeks of GEJ treatment on muscle strength of lower limbs were measured by a Biodex dynamometer, with disability evaluated on the Lequesne index and articular pain measured on the visual analog scale (VAS) between the two groups on the baseline and after treatment. Results. There were significant increases in the levels of muscle strength of TQ/BW-ext-dominant and TQ/BW-flex-dominant between the two groups after treatment (P < 0.05). There were also significant increases in muscle strength of knee extensor muscles in the GEJ-treated group (n = 21) self-controlled before and after 12 weeks of treatment (all P < 0.01). There were significant decreases in articular pain (P < 0.01) and Lequesne index scores (P < 0.01) in the GEJ-treated group when compared to the non-GEJ-treated group. Conclusions. Our results showed that GEJ is effective and is tolerated well in elderly men with knee OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]