Fenton CG, Webster JM, Martin CS, et al. - Experts used the TNF-tg model of chronic polyarthritis to discover the influence of therapeutic glucocorticoids (GCs) on bone and muscle homeostasis in regards of systemic inflammation. TNF-tg mice who received GCs exhibited protection from inflammatory bone loss, characterized by a decrease in serum markers of bone resorption, osteoclast numbers, and osteoclast activity. On the contrary, muscle wasting significantly rose in wild-type and TNF-tg animals who received GCs, independently of inflammation, which was characterized by a decline in muscle weight and fiber size, and induction in anti-anabolic and catabolic signaling. Hence, oral GCs partially guarded against inflammatory bone loss, however, induced marked muscle wasting when given in early-onset chronic polyarthritis. In patients with inflammatory arthritis who received GCs, the development of interventions to manage harmful side effects in muscle should be prioritized.