Osteoporosis: An unusual presentation of childhood Crohn's disease

Osteoporosis is known to be associated with Crohn's disease. We report a 12 -yr-old boy without a history of steroid use, in whom severe osteoporosis a nd multiple collapsed vertebrae were the presenting manifestations of Crohn 's disease. After treatment of the Crohn's disease, he resumed normal growt h and progressed through puberty. Concomitantly, he demonstrated a substant ial recovery of vertebral bone mineral density and structure. Possible path ophysiological mechanisms underlying the osteoporosis and the subsequent im provement in bone density are discussed.