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Cited by 786Nutrition and Health in AgingMuscle Physiology and DisordersClinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology

Cachexia: pathophysiology and clinical relevance1,2

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Morley, John E, Thomas, David R, Wilson, Margaret-Mary G·2006·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
DOI 10.1093/ajcn/83.4.735
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Abstract

Cachexia causes weight loss and increased mortality. It affects more than 5 million persons in the United States. Other causes of weight loss include anorexia, sarcopenia, and dehydration. The pathophysiology of cachexia is reviewed in this article. The major cause appears to be cytokine excess. Other potential mediators include testosterone and insulin-like growth factor I deficiency, excess myostatin, and excess glucocorticoids. Numerous diseases can result in cachexia, each by a slightly different mechanism. Both nutritional support and orexigenic agents play a role in the management of cachexia.

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  • Markers of inflammation (i.e., C-reactive protein) have been shown to correlate with disease-related anorexia, reduced food intake, and muscle catabolism, and to predict lack of response to nutritional treatment.

    “Markers of inflammation (i.e.C-reactive protein [CRP]) have been shown to correlate with disease-related anorexia, reduced food intake and muscle catabolism, and at the same predict lack of response to nutritional treatment [147,190,191].”

    From ESPEN guideline on nutritional support for polymorbid medical inpatients (2023) · cites this paper as [190]

    The Chronic renal failure section and Table 4 associate elevated CRP in cachexia with increased protein catabolism and resistance to nutrition support. They do not show that CRP itself predicts treatment response, and Table 4 describes food intake in cachexia as low or normal, not consistently reduced. The section links cytokine excess—not specifically CRP—to anorexia. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Morley, J. E., Thomas, D. R., & Wilson, M.-M. G.
Affiliations
St. Louis VA Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Morley, John E
ORCID
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2006-04
Volume
83
Issue
4
Pages
735-743
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1093/ajcn/83.4.735
OpenAlex
W2168293740
Cited by
786
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 59 · 2012: 52
FWCI
6.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology
Keywords
cachexia, pathophysiology, weight loss, mortality, cytokines, androgen deficiency, insulin-like growth factor I, myostatin, glucocorticoids, nutritional support, anorexia, sarcopenia, dehydration
MeSH terms
Aging, Anorexia, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Cachexia, Chronic Disease, Glucocorticoids, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Kidney Failure, Chronic, Neoplasms, Testosterone, Weight Loss, Cytokines, Transforming Growth Factor beta, HIV Wasting Syndrome, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Myostatin

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