Cachexia (Weight Loss, Muscle Wasting, Fatigue, Weakness)

Cachexia is also known as 'wasting syndrome'. Characteristic signs of cachexia include weight loss, muscle wasting, fatigue, weakness, and significant appetite loss. The formal definition of cachexia is 'the loss of body mass that canot be reversed nutritionally'. Cachexia is seen in patients with cancer, AIDS, congestive heart failure, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis and hormonal deficiency.