A commentary on Rheumatoid cachexia revisited: a metabolic co-morbidity in rheumatoid arthritis by Masuko K. The " mini review " by Masuko (1) contains a quite extensive summary of " rheumatoid cachexia " (2) [i.e., loss of muscle mass in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)], an often overlooked and misdiagnosed co-morbidity. Masuko looks at the definition of " rheumatoid cachexia, " as well as the patho...

Cancer cachexia remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite extensive research and clinical trials. The prominent clinical feature of cancer cachexia is the continuous loss of skeletal muscle that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support, and that leads to progressive functional impairment. The mechanism underlying muscle loss in patients with cache...

PURPOSE Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by progressive loss of weight and muscle atrophy. Using metabolomics, we investigated serum markers and their intra-day variation in advanced pancreatic cancer patients with cachexia. METHODS Patients were enrolled in two groups: those with or without cachexia. Blood samples collected at 6:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:30 PM, and 9:30 PM...

To examine the effects of aliskiren, a small-molecule renin inhibitor, on cancer cachexia and to explore the underlying mechanisms. A cancer cachexia model was established by subcutaneously injecting C26 mouse colon carcinoma cells into isogenic BALB/c mice. Aliskiren was administered intragastrically [10 mg/kg body weight (BW)] on day 5 (as a preventive strategy, AP group) or on day 12 (as a t...

Cancer-related symptoms such cachexia and pain are subjects of a proliferation of assessment tools, diagnostic criteria, and systems for staging, which are notably disparate, and lack agreement on the variables to be measured. Teams of experts have worked diligently to develop consensus definitions of the terms cachexia and cancer cachexia, and these efforts provide the basis to develop agreeme...

In patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, cachexia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The pathogenic mechanism of this finding, usually referred to as "cancer anorexia and cachexia syndrome" (CACS), is complex and far from completely understood, but a disturbed equilibrium between possible food intake and metabolic needs seems to be fundamental. The literature data on...

Cachexia is a wasting syndrome observed in many patients suffering from several chronic diseases including cancer. In addition to the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, cancer cachexia results in cardiac function impairment. During the severe stage of the disease, patients as well as animals bearing cancer cells display cardiac atrophy. Cardiac energy metabolism is also impeded with disr...

Cachexia is a syndrome associated with many chronic diseases and is an independent risk factor for mortality. Yet it is only in these last years that cachexia has received increasing attention, as the recently instituted international congress on this topic indicates. Here we review some of the most noteworthy contributions presented at the 4th Cachexia Conference in December 2007. Of particula...

BACKGROUND An appropriate plasma concentration of fentanyl is the key to achieving good pain control in cancer patients. Cachexia, a multifactorial syndrome, is known to affect drug-metabolizing enzymes. However, the fentanyl concentrations in the blood of patients with cachexia have not been analyzed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of cancer cachexia on dose-adjusted plasm...