Active clinical trials for "Cachexia"

Cachexia is a systemic catabolic syndrome with apparent effect on skeletal muscles, tolerance to chemotherapy, early toxicity and quality of life; however, its effect on cardiopulmonary function is not well understood. Preclinical studies demonstrated diaphragmatic muscle wasting(29) and left ventricular wasting and fibrosis associated with mouse cachexia models.(40) Many patients, who experience cancer cachexia, describe a generalized debility and a sense of breathlessness(41) despite adequate oxygenation in the peripheral blood as measured by pulse oximetry. Whether this is related to deconditioning associated with chemotherapy or related to direct effect on cardiac and diaphragmatic muscles remains unknown. In this pilot study, the investigators propose to perform a preliminary evaluation of the cardiopulmonary function in patients with pancreatic cancer, who are likely to develop cachexia, to assess for the feasibility of performing a larger prospective study to understand the impact of cancer cachexia on cardiopulmonary function. This pilot study will provide the foundation to potentially identify cachexia in early stages (pre-cachexia) to develop pharmacological or exercise based interventions to prevent or delay its progression. Based on clinical experience and published literature, it is expected that 60-70% of patients will have >10% weight loss during the course of this disease. More commonly, this is associated with clinical or radiographic disease progression, but certainly it can happen throughout the course of the disease even without disease progression.

Anorexia is common symptom in cancer patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However timely detection with objective tools is necessary to establish the diagnosis of anorexia and to assess the magnitude of change over time. The anorexia pathophysiology is not clearly understood and treatment options are limited. Anecdotal historical benefits of smoking marijuana on nausea, pain and anorexia led to studies with marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids from Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active agent in marijuana. The endogenous cannabinoid system with its receptors CB1 and CB2 regulate appetite in four functional levels: (1) limbic system (hedonistic quality), (2) hypothalamus (appetite stimulant), (3) intestinal, and (4) tissue adipose. Nabilone, a synthetic analogue of THC approved in Mexico for nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy is also used in palliative care units for clinical improvement in increased appetite patients in terminal stages, however, there are no clinical trials demonstrating this benefit.

To study BAT activity and energy metabolism in patients with cachexia induced by cancer or chronic disease.

The overall purpose of the study is to evaluate nutrition education interventions to promote pulse incorporated complementary food to the wider rural community through the government system to improve maternal knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) and nutritional status of young children (6 to 24 months). The hypothesis is that nutrition education improves mothers knowledge, attitude and practice of pulse incorporated complementary food and improves dietary intake of iron and zinc and nutritional status of young children.

A study of Curcumin to prevent cancer anorexia and cachexia Syndrom in locally advance and advance stage head and neck cancer (stage III, IV)

The purpose of this study is to test the impact on child growth of three specially formulated complementary food supplements vs. Plumpy'Doz, a previously tested, commercially available complementary food, and vs. a control group that receives no food. All groups will receive nutrition education related to infant and young child feeding. This will be a cluster-randomised trial in children 6-18 months old in rural Rangpur and Gaibandha in Bangladesh.

The relationship between myopenia, nutritional status, and long-term oncologic outcomes remains poorly characterized in patients with anatomically resectable pancreatic cancer (PC). The investigators want to look at muscle properties in pancreatic cancer patients to determine possible therapeutic options toward better nutritional status. Patients with benign right upper quadrant pathology will be utilized as controls for the study. The researchers hypothesize that improving cancer cachexia in PC will improve the quality of life and ultimately increase overall survival. The long term goal of is to identify areas of intervention to prevent and/or improve cachectic events in PC in order to significantly improve clinical outcomes. The first step in this long term goal is to fully characterize cachexia in the condition of PC. This research is to understand and modify the local response within skeletal muscle leading to a clinically relevant persistent wasting and to understand and interrupt the systemic stimulus produced by the tumor local environment resulting in these muscle specific mechanisms.

RATIONALE: Celecoxib may help relieve moderate or severe pain associated with cancer. It may also decrease weight loss and improve muscle strength in cancer patients. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying celecoxib to see how well it works in managing pain, weight loss, and weakness in patients with advanced cancer.

This randomized clinical trial studies pulmonary rehabilitation in improving lung function in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer undergoing chemoradiation. Individualized exercise rehabilitation programs may reduce breathing problems and improve quality of life in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. It is not yet known whether pulmonary rehabilitation is more effective when started during or after cancer treatment.

The primary objectives of this study are to evaluate the effects of an amino acid mixture (Amixea) on the body composition as assessed by DXA, and on QMVC as assessed by strain gauge, in advanced NSCLC patients, compared to placebo, after 10 weeks of treatment. Secondary objectives are to evaluate the activity of Amixea on the degree of protein synthesis, on the nutritional risk and status and quality of life in advanced NSCLC patients, compared to placebo, after 10 weeks of treatment. In a small subsample, body composition will be evaluated opportunistically from clinically available CT scans. Adherence to, and patient satisfaction of treatment will be evaluated as exploratory objectives of this study. Finally, the overall safety and product tolerability will be evaluated.