Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital have uncovered a unique therapeutic strategy to combat cachexia -- severe malnutrition and physical wasting away -- in children and adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The study is published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Although the exact cause of cachexia -- a common life-threatening complication of CKD, cancer, AIDS and heart failure patients -- is unknown, Doernbecher researchers found elevated levels of leptin, a hormone that is produced by fat cells and plays a role in weight regulation, may be the cause. Leptin signals through the hypothalamic melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4-R) pathway in the brain, and blocking this pathway may be an important avenue for treatment, they report. The study was conducted in mice.
