Articles: cachexia-drug-therapy.
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Rosiglitazone improves insulin sensitivity and promotes weight gain in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which could be useful in wasting and cachexia. However, its effects on cardiac function are controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rosiglitazone on body wasting, body composition, cardiac function, and survival in a rat model of cancer cachexia. ⋯ Rosiglitazone prevents weight loss and improves survival in a rat model of cancer cachexia. It exerts beneficial effects on cardiac function.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the anticatabolic effects of leucine and Ca-β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate in experimental models of cancer cachexia.
Loss of skeletal muscle is the most debilitating feature of cancer cachexia, and there are few treatments available. The aim of this study was to compare the anticatabolic efficacy of L-leucine and the leucine metabolite β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (Ca-HMB) on muscle protein metabolism, both in vitro and in vivo. ⋯ These results favor the clinical feasibility of using Ca-HMB over high doses of leucine for the treatment of cancer cachexia.
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Anticancer Agents Med Chem · Oct 2013
Reviewβ-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate as a countermeasure for cancer cachexia: a cellular and molecular rationale.
Cancer cachexia is a life-threatening condition characterized by involuntary body weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting. In addition to being associated with poor prognosis and reduced survival, patients with cachexia exhibit a critical loss of physical function that impinges upon their ability to perform basic activities of daily living. Consequently, there is a loss of independence and a drastically reduced quality of life. ⋯ Evidence suggests that HMB treatment promotes regenerative events (i.e. myogenic program), suppresses protein degradation, and activates signaling pathways preceding protein synthesis and skeletal muscle growth. HMB therefore, could conceivably act on key regulatory events driving cancer cachexia, thereby favoring muscle growth/preservation. In this review, we take a mechanistic approach in making a case for the use of HMB provision as a possible therapeutic strategy for cancer cachexia by highlighting the cellular and molecular aspects of HMB function.