[Cachexia in chronic cardiac disease. Ancient syndrome new idea?].

Cachexia has long been recognized as serious complication of chronic illness. Cardiac cachexia is a syndrome of generalised wasting which carries a poor prognosis of the chronic heart disease. Characteristic features of cachexia include the activation of the immune system associated with raised plasma concentriations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF(alpha) and other plasma cytokines. Another crucial issue is muscle wasting through the ubiquitin proteasome pathway. The prevention or attenuation of disease related skeletal muscle degeneration has been a common goal in the treatment of cardiac cachexia.