Cachexia News and Research

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Cachexia is a condition which denotes the excessive loss of weight. It occurs because of the depletion of adipose tissue and muscle mass in people who are not trying to lose weight.

Discovery of key regulator of body weight could lead to new treatments for metabolic disorders

Yale scientists uncover key regulator of body weight. Yale scientists have discovered that a protein known as augmentor-alpha regulates body weight in mice, an insight that could lead to new treatments for metabolic disorders.

11 Apr 2022

Improving our understanding of a severe pregnancy sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum)

News-Medical talks to Dr. Marlena Fejzo about a breakthrough in the understanding of hyperemesis gravidarum, and how it could improve maternal health around the world.

5 Apr 2022

Exercise prior to tumor bearing may help reduce the effects of wasting syndrome

A new study has identified yet another benefit of keeping up your exercise routine. In experiments performed with mice, researchers found that exercising prior to developing cancer was associated with slower tumor growth and helped reduce the effects of a cancer complication known as wasting syndrome, or cachexia.

4 Apr 2022

Simple, inexpensive method to predict the risk of functional disability in older people

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with colleagues at University College London in the UK have discovered an efficient, simple and inexpensive method of predicting the risk of functional disability in older people.

21 Dec 2021

Study finds early stages of sarcopenia could be counteracted with timely interventions

Weakening muscles are a natural part of the ageing process, but for some people with a condition called sarcopenia the decline is abnormally fast.

30 Nov 2021

Research shows how circadian control of glucose production is disrupted during lung cancer progression

New research from the University of California, Irvine reveals how the circadian regulation of glucose production in the liver is lost during lung cancer progression, and how the resulting increase in glucose production may fuel cancer cell growth.

25 Jun 2021

Girls more likely to develop metabolic alterations associated with obesity than boys

A study of 92 adolescents conducted in Brazil suggests girls are more likely than boys to develop metabolic alterations associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure and excessive blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (dyslipidemia).

12 May 2021

Preoperative sarcopenia and exercise intolerance predict outcomes following lung cancer surgery

Lung cancer is a major global cause of mortality, reportedly accounting for 1.7 million deaths each year. The most common form of lung cancer is non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and early-stage NSCLCs can often be surgically resected.

26 Apr 2021

Study sheds new light on the ability of pancreatic cancer cells to metastasize

With an overall survival rate of 9% for those diagnosed, pancreatic cancer remains exceedingly difficult to treat. However, the patient's primary tumor typically isn't what leads to death - it is the cancer's ability to evade detection and metastasize to other organs.

19 Apr 2021

Elevated Activin A and FLRG levels correlate with worst outcomes in severe COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes a "cytokine storm" in hospitalized and ICU patients. Studies have shown that the blockade of cytokine signaling and steroid treatment helps achieve positive outcomes in patients.

15 Feb 2021

Researchers use cachexia model to assess cancer-derived myocardial impairments

Oncotarget recently published "Evaluation of cancer-derived myocardial impairments using a mouse model" which reported that Myocardial damage in cancer patients is emphasized as a cause of death; however, there are not many murine cachexia models to evaluate cancer-derived heart disorder.

11 Feb 2021

Study gives new clues to how muscle wasting occurs on a cellular level

Muscle wasting, or the loss of muscle tissue, is a common problem for people with cancer, but the precise mechanisms have long eluded doctors and scientists. Now, a new study led by Penn State researchers gives new clues to how muscle wasting happens on a cellular level.

3 Feb 2021

Can metabolic biomarkers help clinicians stratify adverse outcome risk in COVID-19 patients?

A recent study describes the alterations in lipids and other parameters that define the state of dysfunctional metabolism in acute COVID-19 illness.

20 Jan 2021

Study identifies the effects of malnutrition on patient survival after cardiac surgery

Nutrients are the structural components of food that the body needs to function properly. They are divided into macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins, provitamins, various minerals, and so on). Their shortage is called nutritional deficiency.

28 Dec 2020

Short term “prehabilitation” strength exercises, undertaken pre-surgery, do not prevent muscle loss

Older adults about to undergo elective surgery should undertake a sustained programme of targeted exercise beforehand to counteract the muscle-wasting effects of bedrest, new research suggests.

21 Dec 2020

Inflammatory factors that aggravate COVID-19 may come from adipose tissue

There is growing evidence that adipose tissue plays a key role in the aggravation of COVID-19. One of the theories under investigation is that fat cells (adipocytes) act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 and increase viral load in obese or overweight individuals.

20 Nov 2020

Researchers identify new strategy to combat loss of skeletal muscle mass

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that stimulating expression of a protein naturally produced by the human body can be a strategy to combat loss of skeletal muscle mass, which happens normally with aging but can intensify in cases of neurodegenerative or inflammatory disease, or in patients who spend long periods in intensive care units (ICUs).

9 Nov 2020

New study may help combat loss of muscle mass associated with aging

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered that the muscle regeneration promoted by aerobic exercise is mediated by changes in oxygen consumption by satellite cells, also known as skeletal muscle stem cells.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers develop 'Trojan horse' approach to destroy cancer cells

Cancer cells are killed in lab experiments and tumour growth reduced in mice, using a new approach that turns a nanoparticle into a 'Trojan horse' that causes cancer cells to self-destruct, a research team at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has found.

23 Sep 2020

Scientists identify key cell signaling pathway that drives muscle loss

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have identified a key cell signaling pathway that drives the devastating muscle loss, or cachexia, suffered by many cancer patients.

22 May 2020