home Endocrinology How cachexia kills a person. Cancer cachexia is a dangerous consequence of pathology that requires timely attention. Cancer type of cachexia

How cachexia kills a person. Cancer cachexia is a dangerous consequence of pathology that requires timely attention. Cancer type of cachexia

Oncological disease can cause general exhaustion and weakening of the human body. Cachexia in cancer indicates advanced forms of a malignant tumor - a sharp decrease in body weight and severe weakness are signs of stage 3-4 oncology.

Types and causes of exhaustion

Rapid weight loss is never without cause - cachexia in cancer or endocrine diseases develops within a limited amount of time. There are 2 main groups of causes of exhaustion:

Exogenous (any external factors affecting weight loss - chronic and long-term malnutrition, psychogenic anorexia, prolonged stressful situation, severe general infectious diseases, constant use of medications with a negative effect on weight);
Endogenous (pathology of internal organs and endocrine glands - diseases of the pituitary gland and thyroid gland, diseases of any part of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiopulmonary failure, systemic diseases and oncology).

Having eliminated external factors, it is possible to restore the human body without any particular difficulties and consequences with the help of course therapy, but with pathology of internal organs, healing can take a long time, and the prognosis will not always be favorable. Especially if the examination reveals a malignant tumor of any location.

The most common types of severe weight loss and exhaustion occur:

psychogenic;
endocrine;
cancer cachexia.

Rapid weight loss is a symptom that cannot be ignored: if you experience unexplained weight loss, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to find out the cause of the pathological condition as early as possible. Often, the time factor plays an important role - in oncopathology, detection of the disease in the first stages is a prognostically favorable variant of the disease.

Symptoms of the pathological process

The worst option is cachexia in cancer. In addition to rapidly progressing extreme exhaustion, the following manifestations of the disease may appear:

constant and severe weakness;
rapid onset of fatigue with minimal load;
sleep problems (severe drowsiness or insomnia);
lethargy, emotional apathy and mental disorders;
problems with skin and hair (flabbiness, dryness, pallor, hair loss);
eating disorders (lack of appetite, dysphagia, nausea, vomiting);
tendency to constipation;
swelling in the limbs;
frequent respiratory infections;
hypotension (low blood pressure) with dizziness and fainting;
anemia (decrease in hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood);
problems in the mouth (stomatitis, periodontitis, tooth loss);
women have menstrual irregularities.

With rapid weight loss, there will always be additional complaints and symptoms indicating serious problems in the body. Regardless of what causes cachexia - a malignant tumor, endocrine pathology or psychogenic disorders - it is necessary to immediately begin symptomatic therapy: a loss of more than 50% of the initial body weight can become an irreversible condition for a person.

Treatment of exhaustion

Having discovered a cachectic state, and without waiting for confirmation of the main diagnosis, it is necessary to start therapy as early as possible. The main principles of treatment are:

correction of dehydration (droppers with nutrient solutions);
normalization of nutrition (introduction of a sufficient amount of protein, easily digestible fats, vitamins and microelements into the diet);
use of appetite stimulants;
prescribing medications for digestion (enzymes);
Anabolic steroids and psychotropic drugs are used according to indications.

An important factor in therapy is identifying and eliminating the main cause of the pathological condition. In case of cancer, surgery is performed when the general condition improves and body weight increases - surgery against the background of severe cachexia is carried out only for health reasons. Against the background of endocrine disorders, the introduction into the treatment regimen of drugs that correct hormonal balance leads to rapid weight restoration. With psychogenic factors, an important role in therapy is assigned to the psychotherapist.

Forecast for life

Confirmed cancer cachexia, in which life expectancy is limited to a short period of time, requires symptomatic therapy to improve the general condition of the sick person. Severe exhaustion due to oncology of any location is the last stage of a cancerous tumor: most often, surgery and drug therapy help prolong life, but do not cure. The prognosis for life in a cachectic state against the background of a malignant tumor is unfavorable: in the vast majority of cases, death occurs within a few months from the moment of pronounced weight loss.

Any type of weight loss in a short period of time is an extremely unfavorable sign, indicating the need for a full examination with mandatory treatment of exhaustion. You cannot postpone diagnostic and treatment measures - the sooner the doctor makes a diagnosis, the greater the chance of recovery.

In two thirds of cases, they are accompanied by weight loss, causing exhaustion of the body. This serious disease requires special attention because it can pose a threat to life.

Concept

Exhaustion of the body with significant loss of fat and muscle mass is called cachexia.

The disease can be caused by many reasons.

If the patient has very low weight due to malnutrition due, for example, to poverty or excessive dieting, then such cachexia is called primary.
The manifestation of pathology as a consequence of other diseases indicates the secondary nature of cachexia. Typically, exhaustion occurs as a result of severe disorders in the body, chronic or acute manifestations of disease.

A signal that emaciation refers to a case of cachexia is a weight loss over the course of a year of 5% or more of the patient’s total weight. It is important to treat exhaustion of the body in a timely manner, avoiding a dangerous stage of this phenomenon.

Causes of malignant cachexia

Why oncology causes exhaustion, experts do not have a clear opinion. More recently, the priority was the judgment that cancer cells influence the functioning of the body in such a way that energy resources are directed to satisfy the needs of tumor cells, and as a result of this phenomenon, healthy cells do not receive enough necessary substances.

Now researchers are inclined to conclude that cachexia is the body’s reaction to the aggressive manifestation of cancer. It was discovered that the genome responsible for fat metabolism is blocked by the development of oncology.

Scientists were able to identify a genome that may be the initiator of the depletion of a cancer patient, this is TSC22D4. Experiments showed that after blocking it, the energy balance returned to normal.

Some cell features lead to weight loss:

Cells of different tissues have their own specific differences. The loss of differences between cells, the erasing of the edges that make them different, contributes to the appearance of oncology in the body.
The vital activity of cancer cells produces substances that are toxins. The tumor, through its negative impact on metabolism, causes disruption of self-regulation processes.

Symptoms

If cachexia is caused by an oncological pathology, the following signs may be observed:

significant weight loss
lethargy,
nervous exhaustion,
there are feverish conditions,
muscles look exhausted
drowsiness,
the patient becomes unable to work,
the appearance of wrinkles,
the structure of hair and nails show signs of unhealthy changes,
subcutaneous tissue becomes sharply thinner,
swelling of the subcutaneous tissue,
sagging skin,
the skin has an unhealthy color (earthy-gray tint),
the volume of blood that circulates in the body decreases;
there is an accumulation of edematous fluid in some parts of the body,
gag reflex develops
anemia,
sexual desire decreases,
blood pressure tends to decrease,
signs of dehydration,
bowel dysfunction: constipation or diarrhea;
Dental problems appear: stomatitis, possible tooth loss.

Forms and types

The disease is classified according to the disorders that caused depletion:

Cancerous cachexia as a result of the development of a tumor process.
Pituitary cachexia is caused by a malfunction of the pituitary gland.
Heart cachexia – heart disease can cause exhaustion of the body; the diagnosis of cachexia can be established after laboratory and other tests.
Cerebral cachexia is a type of pathology caused by disturbances in brain activity.
Nutritional Cachexia is a disease of nutritional deficiency due to hunger or poor diet. This type of disorder also includes anorexia nervosa.
Amyloid cachexia is a disease associated with metabolic disorders.
One of the types of cachexia is caused by dysfunction of the digestive organs., as a result of which sufficient absorption of necessary substances does not occur.

The international classification distinguishes the following forms of cachexia:

Marasmus– with this disorder, organ functions are preserved, and atrophy affects the subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscles.
Kwashiorkor– pathology of the type of severe nutritional depletion. Patients with this diagnosis experience protein starvation for a long period.
Marasmus-kwashiorkor– signs of the first two disorders appear simultaneously.

Complications

Severe weight loss can have negative consequences:

dehydration of the body,
to whom,
bleeding due to peptic ulcer of the intestines or stomach,
blood poisoning,
renal and heart failure,
vitamin deficiency,
mental disorders.

Degrees

Exhaustion affects the tolerability of oncology procedures and the possibility of positive results from their use. With significant weight loss, the patient may not have enough strength to make positive changes.

There are three degrees of cachexia:

The initial period is called precachexia. It is determined by the following characteristics:
- lack of appetite,
- violation:
  - temperature regime,
  - breathing rate,
  - number of leukocytes in the blood;
  - weight change up to 5% over six months.
With properly selected measures, you can stop the process associated with weight loss at this stage.
The initial period is followed by a condition called cachexia. The main symptom is a decrease in weight beyond five percent of the total weight. The progression of the pathology puts the patient to bed due to lack of strength.

Photo of cancer cachexia in a man

When the body stops responding to treatment, the final stage of development of the pathology occurs - refractory cachexia. This stage leads to death.

Diagnostics

To confirm the presence of cachexia syndrome in a patient, an examination is carried out, which includes:

analysis of patient complaints,
physical examination:
- it is checked whether there is a disorder of consciousness,
- defined:
  - body mass index,
  - how elastic the skin is,
  - the thickness of the fat layer located under the skin.
carrying out analyses:
- blood cultures (if necessary) to check for sepsis,
- blood tests: ,
- general urine examination,
The patient is sent for consultation with specialists:
- neurologist,
- gastroenterologist,
- psychiatrist,
- endocrinologist,
- oncologist,
- surgeon,
diagnostics are performed using the following equipment:
- Magnetic resonance imaging,
- esophagogastroduodenoscopy,
- ultrasonography,
- X-ray examination.

Treatment of cancer cachexia

Normalization of the process that prompted the body to lose weight is carried out in a hospital. The following methods are mainly used:

hormone therapy,
the use of enzymes for complete digestion of food,
selection of a balanced diet,
use of appetite stimulants,
vitamin therapy,
antibacterial treatment.

Lifespan

The processes accompanying cancer cachexia significantly worsen the general condition of the patient. These consequences include:

skeletal muscle atrophy,
thinning of the fat layer
and other negative phenomena.

In a third of patients with cancer, cachexia leads to death. The condition of the muscles of the organs deteriorates, and they lose the ability to fully function. Poor prognosis for refractory cachexia.

If metabolism is severely suppressed, then we can say that the body does not have the strength to resist pathology. The patient in this situation survives for three months at best.

Timely treatment measures taken to prevent complex cachexia make its impact on life expectancy insignificant.

Video about anorexia-cachexia syndrome:

What kind of disease is cachexia? Many patients who have been diagnosed with this are interested in information about it. Doctors say that the disease is characterized by complete exhaustion of the body for various reasons. This condition is accompanied not only by weight loss, but also by metabolic disorders, deterioration of immunity, and mental changes. This disease requires urgent hospitalization and conservative therapy. The prognosis is often unfavorable.

What kind of disease is this?

Cachexia (according to ICD-10 code - R64) is severe depletion of the body. The disease can be associated with many disorders of internal organs, and sometimes develops due to the fault of the person himself, who seeks to lose weight and get rid of extra pounds.

Cachexia (ICD includes it in the class of symptoms, signs and abnormalities) can be associated with such disorders as:

diseases of the nervous system;
tumors;
endocrine disorders;
sudden weight loss.

Despite the various causes of the problem, its manifestations are almost always the same. As weight loss occurs, a deficiency of nutrients occurs, as a result of which metabolic processes are disrupted and internal organs suffer.

The course of the disease and its outcome are largely influenced by the patient’s age and the cause that provoked the disturbances in the body.

Causes

Cachexia (ICD-10 code indicated above) refers to catastrophic depletion of the body, which causes internal organs to suffer. The disease can be primary or secondary. Primary cachexia implies exhaustion that occurs against the background of a strict diet, when an insufficient amount of nutrients enters the body.

Such data are not reflected in the ICD, but secondary type cachexia can be caused by:

pathologies of the stomach and intestines;
infectious diseases;
cancerous tumors;
psychological disorders;
taking certain medications;
endocrine disorders.

Malignant neoplasms play a special role in the occurrence of cachexia. The disease is characterized by the fact that during its course the body's metabolic processes are disrupted, and poisoning occurs with toxic substances produced by the tumor. Infectious processes lead to intoxication, as a result of which a person begins to dramatically lose weight.

Symptoms

It is important to know what cachexia is and how exactly such a disorder manifests itself in the body. The disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

When cachexia occurs, as a result of insufficient amounts of nutrients, the skin loses its former elasticity. The skin becomes sluggish and acquires a sallow tone or extreme pallor. Impaired tissue nutrition leads to severe brittleness of nails, development of stomatitis and hair loss.

Cachexia may also be accompanied by disruption of the genitourinary system, intestines and stomach. In patients, sexual desire sharply decreases and completely disappears. Mental disorders occur, severe irritability, lethargy, apathy, tearfulness, and severe weakness appear.

Classification

It is important to know not only what cachexia is, but also what types of this disease there are, so that you can promptly recognize disorders occurring in the body. In clinical practice, there are several forms of the disease, each of which differs in the mechanisms of development. In particular:

hypothalamic;
cahechtinaceae;
anorexic.

In addition, the disease can be divided into several types, depending on the cause that provoked the exhaustion. Particular attention should be paid to the following types:

The pituitary and cerebral type affects the brain and develops as a result of disruption of its functioning. They are quite difficult to treat and there is a high risk of death. Nutritional cachexia occurs due to poor nutrition.

The cardiac form is characterized by a decrease in the ability of the heart muscle to maintain normal blood circulation.

Cancer type of cachexia

Cancer cachexia usually occurs as a result of severe stages of development of malignant neoplasms of the digestive system, lungs, brain and breast. Exhaustion is due to the fact that the tumor absorbs nutrients, and toxic ones are released into the bloodstream, poisoning the human body. As the intoxication process progresses, a decrease in appetite occurs, up to a complete refusal of food and nausea.

It is important to carry out aggressive therapy, since during chemotherapy, the disintegration of the tumor provokes a metabolic disorder in the body. A special group includes patients with cancer cachexia, which was caused by the presence of a neoplasm in the area of the digestive organs and oral cavity, which makes food consumption impossible.

As this disease progresses, irreversible changes occur in the body, resulting in the death of the patient. Cachexia in cancer is treated only symptomatically. A person should adhere to a diet enriched with vitamins and include easily digestible but high-calorie foods. If cachexia in cancer is complicated, with severe nausea and vomiting, then antiemetic drugs are prescribed. Taking fish oil helps slow down the weight loss process.

Nutritional cachexia

Many people are interested in what it is - cachexia of the alimentary type, how this disease manifests itself. The pathological process occurs when the need for nutrients is not met by the food consumed. This may be due to strict diets, pathological processes in the digestive system, or the presence of a tumor. As a result, patients experience aversion to food, nausea, and have difficulty eating food as a result of damage to the oral cavity.

As she loses weight, a psychogenic factor is added; the woman ceases to adequately assess her condition and continues to refuse food, even when her usual lifestyle becomes impossible.

Pituitary cachexia

People who are diagnosed with a brain tumor are interested in what it is - pituitary cachexia. A similar condition is diagnosed during pathological processes occurring in the pituitary gland, which is observed when the cells that feed the vessels die.

This disease often occurs in the postpartum period, especially in those who have experienced major blood loss, as well as postpartum depression. The death of pituitary cells leads to a decrease in the amount of hormones they produce, which is why weight loss occurs, and dystonia, mental disorders, and hypotension are also observed.

Stages of the disease

Depending on weight loss and the characteristics of metabolic disorders, there are 3 main stages of cachexia:

precachexia;
cachexia;
refractory disorders.

Precachexia is characterized by the fact that in six months a person loses approximately 5% of body weight, signs of an inflammatory process are observed in the internal organs, the patient refuses food, and metabolic disorders also occur. The second stage is due to the fact that there is a weight loss of more than 5% or a decrease in skeletal muscle.

The refractory stage is characterized by metabolic disorders, lack of results from therapy, and severe exhaustion. In the last stages, a person completely refuses to consume food, sometimes consciousness is impaired, and life expectancy does not exceed 3 months.

Carrying out diagnostics

The doctor can make the diagnosis when examining the patient, since sudden weight loss can be noticed almost immediately. However, in order to carry out competent and adequate therapy, it is necessary to conduct an examination to determine the cause that provoked the pathological process, as well as the stage of metabolic disorders.

Diagnosis requires laboratory tests of blood and urine, and in some cases, stool analysis. There is a decrease in the amount of proteins, glucose and cholesterol in the blood. During the inflammatory process, leukocytosis, a decrease in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and anemia are possible. The volume of urine decreases, and there is a sharp increase in white blood cells and protein. In addition, instrumental research techniques are prescribed:

As a result of the diagnosis, consultation with a cardiologist, oncologist, psychiatrist, infectious disease specialist, and neurologist is required.

Features of treatment

Treatment of cachexia is carried out comprehensively and requires compliance with certain rules. This is due to special difficulties when consuming food, as there is a disturbance in appetite and changes in the digestive organs.

The choice of method for replenishing the lack of useful and nutrient substances depends largely on the patient’s well-being, the functioning of the digestive system, as well as the degree of exhaustion of the body. The patient must adhere to the dietary rules, which are developed individually by a nutritionist for each person. It is worth noting that malignant neoplasms lead to loss of energy, and this increases the need for calories, so the diet should be high in calories.

If the oral cavity is affected by fungal processes, antifungal drugs are prescribed, as well as rinses with antiseptics. During the treatment of cachexia, the patient must be under laboratory control at all times, which will help to promptly detect complications and eliminate them.

If the patient cannot independently consume food, then intravenous support is required, indications for which may include:

inability to independently consume food;
severe exhaustion and weakness;
previous surgery;
significant nutrient requirements.

In addition, doctors prescribe drug therapy, which includes steroids for rapid weight gain, enzymes, and antidepressants. Lifestyle and physical activity are important in therapy.

Danger to life

A distinctive feature of cachexia is that rapid and involuntary weight loss occurs. In addition, the patient experiences atrophy of the muscular system, and this leads to malaise and painful sensations. Over time, it becomes difficult for a person to move his limbs. The disease very often leads to the death of the patient.

Prognosis and prevention

The disease is considered practically incurable; it is often observed in patients with late stages of oncology. The prognosis is poor with high mortality rates.

Prevention in this case implies timely treatment of malignant neoplasms, drug addiction, and alcoholism. In addition, it is important to have a well-balanced diet and consume foods high in fiber.

If the body is frequently affected by cancerous tumors of various locations, this condition is called cancer cachexia. In this case, the location of the malignant neoplasm does not matter. However, cancer cachexia develops more quickly and is more severe if there are malignant tumors in the gastrointestinal tract.

Currently, medicine has not figured out what causes cancer cachexia, but it is believed that two main factors are involved. This is an atypia of metabolism that occurs in the tumor tissue, its high need for substrates necessary for development. Also important is the toxic effect of the tumor on the metabolic process, the functions of extratumoral tissues and organs, and their structure.

As a result, with cancer cachexia, deviations in homeostasis occur that are incompatible with life. Tumors are a real trap for glucose, amino acids, lipids, using them to obtain energy and ensure the synthesis of proteins - nucleic acids, enzymes. Such a tumor has high competitiveness, which is due to the special composition of cells. Therefore, non-tumor tissues are deprived of these substrates. With cancer cachexia, brown atrophy occurs in various tissues, for example, in skeletal muscles, liver and myocardium, and the patient develops exhaustion.

Symptoms of cancer cachexia

Cancer cachexia refers to a large number of changes that occur in the body, which are caused by the growth of a tumor and the disintegration of a tumor. In this case, the body suffering from cancer receives general poisoning. Characteristic features include:

If there is a malignant epithelial tumor, the development of cancer cachexia occurs in a shorter period of time, and severe degrees occur faster. In addition, the onset of tumors of the breast, skin, and uterus often occur without obvious symptoms. The course of gastric cancer is not always accompanied by cancer cachexia.

Basically, cachexia is typical for patients in whom tumor masses rapidly disintegrate during the course of the disease. Moreover, for the occurrence of cachexia, it does not matter how big the tumor is. It is known that the body has mechanisms that provide antitumor protection. They can function at every stage while the malignant tumor is developing. Despite the fact that there is an active fight against cachexia, with serious oncological factors, the death of the body can occur, since as it develops, the tumor also has mechanisms that suppress the immune system.

Treatment of cancer cachexia

According to statistics, cachexia is established if the patient has lost more than five percent of weight in six months. Treatment is ineffective if there is a stage of refractory cachexia, since the disease is already at a late stage. The cancer progresses rapidly without responding to chemotherapy treatment. In this case, the metabolism is catabolic, the patient lives no more than three months. If we talk about artificial nutrition, then for the patient in such a situation there is more risk than probable benefit. In this regard, the work of doctors is focused on reducing complications, as well as on symptomatic treatment. Therefore, it is believed that prevention of cancer cachexia is necessary from the moment it is identified.

Nutrition control is a necessity; doctors must constantly monitor the metabolism of the sick body. Moreover, this approach applies not only to patients with gastrointestinal tumors that complicate nutrition. This is equally true for all cancer patients. It is important to keep protocols that indicate how the patient eats, his physical activity, and the presence of complaints. For example, is there nausea or lack of appetite. In general, a healthy and varied diet is of paramount importance for cancer patients. In addition, experts emphasize that cancer diets do not provide independent treatment.

Cachexia is a pathological condition characterized by rapid weight loss to extreme limits, a decrease in vitality and a slowdown in physiological processes in the body. According to ICD 10, this pathology belongs to categories R50 – R69 of the XVIII class. In sick leave certificates, according to ICD 10, when a diagnosis is recorded, this pathological condition is coded as R64.

Causes

The causes of cachexia are directly related to a decrease in the amount of food consumed due to psychological or physiological disorders in the body.

There are several varieties of this pathology, which depend on the etiological factors that caused it. It can be:

exogenous factors, that is, those that affect a person from the outside (malnutrition, fasting for religious reasons or due to a passionate and unfounded desire to lose weight);
internal (endogenous) - which are associated with pathological processes in the body itself.

The main reasons that can cause the development of this pathology are the following:

diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in which food does not enter the body () or is not absorbed (, gastrectomy and others);
prolonged fasting;
presence of cancer;
severe form of CHF;
or ;
disruptions in the functioning of the endocrine system, as a result of which the metabolism in the body is disrupted;
long-term use of psychostimulants.

In some cases, small children suffer from cachexia. Most often, this pathological condition develops in dysfunctional families - the reasons for the development of such a pathological condition in children are constant malnutrition. In addition, there is a type of disease called senile cachexia, which is associated with natural physiological processes in the body of an elderly person (“shrinkage”).

Symptoms

If we talk about the symptoms of a pathology such as cachexia, it is necessary to remember that they are directly related to the disease that caused this disorder. Therefore, the main symptoms always complement the symptoms of the disease that underlies the disorder. The course of cachexia and the life expectancy of a person with this condition depend on the etiological factor.

The symptoms of cachexia are as follows:

rapid loss of body weight (half of normal);
loss of fat cells;
fatigue and;
lack of vitamins and microelements - as a result of this, a person’s nails break, hair and teeth fall out, wrinkles appear, the skin becomes dry and acquires a pale, dirty color;
loss of strength and decreased performance;
or ;
in women and decreased potency in men;
and other pathologies of the mucous membranes;
decrease in blood pressure;
decreased protective functions of the body.

There are also psychological symptoms of this disease - people with severe cachexia often suffer from mental disorders. They are tearful, have frequent mood swings, and may experience apathetic stupor and confusion.

Forms of pathology

There are several types of this disease:

Pituitary cachexia associated with a disruption in the production of hormones by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, which leads to endocrine disorders. The reason for the malfunction of the pituitary gland may be its traumatic injury or the development of an inflammatory process.

Cerebral cachexia develops against the background of damage to the hypothalamus. The cause of development may be a shock or severe fear experienced in the past. However, this form of pathology has not been fully studied, so the disease is extremely difficult to treat and the life expectancy of patients with this form of cachexia is not very long.

The most common form, which occurs more often than others, is nutritional cachexia. It develops as a result of the body not receiving the nutrients it needs due to prolonged (forced or voluntary) starvation.

If a person is diagnosed with nutritional cachexia, this means that metabolic processes in his body are disrupted, and degeneration of internal organs and tissues progresses. As a result, there is a decrease in performance, disruption of mental activity and intellectual level. Over time, if the disease is not treated, the hormonal balance changes, and atrophy of muscles and internal organs occurs.

Cancer cachexia, the symptoms of which are determined against the background of general exhaustion, appears in people suffering from one or another type of oncological pathology, due to rapid intoxication by the decomposition products of the tumor conglomerate. Most often, this form of cachexia develops in people suffering from cancerous pathologies of the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. Treatment of the disease in this case is impossible without prior treatment of oncopathology.

Cardiac cachexia characterized by rapid weight loss as it progresses. The main reasons why a person with CHF loses body weight have not been studied, but it is noted that this may occur due to the fact that he has a persistent feeling of fullness in the stomach, impaired intestinal motility, etc.

Senile cachexia is a natural aging process in which the body becomes unable to absorb nutrients, resulting in weight loss. This happens due to a slowdown in metabolic processes, and the predisposing factor is a sedentary lifestyle.

Treatment

If we talk about the treatment of pathology, then it consists in eliminating those factors that caused the signs of cachexia. If these are external factors, they should be eliminated first, and if they are internal, you should first undergo restorative therapy.

The prognosis for most types of cachexia is favorable, provided that medical recommendations are strictly followed, and only in the case of a cancerous form of pathology is recovery impossible, since signs of cancer cachexia appear already when the tumor(s) in the body are at the last stage.

Drugs that are used to normalize the process of nutrient absorption and to stimulate appetite are:

pancreatin;
glucose (parenteral);
Andriol;
Periactin and others.

In addition, treatment should include proper nutrition. Patients are prescribed high-calorie foods in small portions - taken 5-6 times a day. And in order for treatment with the help of rational nutrition to give the necessary result, it is necessary to decorate dishes beautifully, thereby stimulating a person’s desire to eat them.

Mandatory foods that should be consumed for this disorder are: baked goods, delicious desserts, fruits and boiled vegetables, rich broths, smoked fish, French fries, etc.

As mentioned above, after this disorder is treated, complete recovery occurs. True, the duration of treatment can vary - from several months to several years. And only such a form as cancer cachexia is a death sentence, since it cannot be cured.

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Diseases with similar symptoms:

Intoxication of the body - occurs due to prolonged exposure to various toxic substances on the human body. This could be industrial poisoning with poisons or chemical elements, prolonged use of medications, for example, in the treatment of oncology or tuberculosis. The influence of toxins can be both external and internal, produced by the body itself.

Mental disorders, characterized primarily by decreased mood, motor retardation and disruption of thinking, are a serious and dangerous disease called depression. Many people believe that depression is not a disease and, moreover, does not pose any particular danger, which they are deeply mistaken about. Depression is a rather dangerous type of disease, caused by a person’s passivity and depression.

Iron deficiency anemia is a syndrome characterized by a decrease in the content of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood. It is usually seen as a symptom of another underlying illness. This type of anemia is quite common and occurs more often than other forms of pathology (in 80% of cases). It is a microcytic anemia that exists due to a decrease in the concentration of iron in the human body due to blood loss or deficiency of iron entering the human body.

Anemia, whose more common name is anemia, is a condition in which there is a decrease in the total number of red blood cells and/or a decrease in hemoglobin per unit volume of blood. Anemia, the symptoms of which manifest themselves in the form of fatigue, dizziness and other types of characteristic conditions, occurs due to insufficient oxygen supply to the organs.