Cancer cachexia

Cachexia diseases
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Oncology, psychiatry
ICD-10	R64
ICD-9-CM	799.4
DiseasesDB	28890
Patient UK	Cachexia
MeSH	D002100
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Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight. The formal definition of cachexia is decrease of body mass, less fatty tissue.

Cachexia is seen in people with cancer, AIDS,coeliac disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart failure, tuberculosis, familial amyloid polyneuropathy, mercury poisoning (acrodynia), Crohn's disease, untreated/severe Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, anorexia nervosa, and hormonal deficiency.

It is a positive risk factor for death, meaning if the person has cachexia, the chance of death from the underlying condition is increased dramatically. It can be a sign of various underlying disorders; when a patient presents with cachexia, a doctor will generally consider the possibility of adverse drug reactions, cancer, metabolic acidosis, certain infectious diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, AIDS), chronic pancreatitis, and some autoimmune disorders. Cachexia physically weakens patients to a state of immobility stemming from loss of appetite, asthenia, and anemia, and response to standard treatment is usually poor. Cachexia includes sarcopenia as a part of its pathology. The term is from Greek κακός kakos "bad" and ἕξις hexis "condition".

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