Topic summary
Muscle wasting
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Muscle atrophy.
Cachexia
Certain diseases can cause a complex muscle wasting syndrome known as cachexia. It is commonly seen in cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease and AIDS although it is associated with many disease processes, usually with a significant inflammatory component. Cachexia causes ongoing muscle loss that is not entirely reversed with nutritional therapy. The pathophysiology is incompletely understood but inflammatory cytokines are considered to play a central role. In contrast to weight loss from inadequate caloric intake, cachexia causes predominantly muscle loss instead of fat loss and it is not as responsive to nutritional intervention. Cachexia can significantly compromise quality of life and functional status and is associated with poor outcomes.