Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a major public health problem in western countries, with an incidence approaching 10 per 1000 per year in those aged 65 years or older. The prognosis of CHF patients is significantly worsened by the development of cachexia. Data from a number of studies support a critical role for the central melanocortin system in the pathogenesis of cachexia of chronic disease.

Scarlett et al. show that, in murine and rat models of heart failure, chronic blockade of central melanocortin signalling using genetic and pharmacological techniques is able to attenuate the metabolic manifestations of cardiac cachexia. Scarlett et al. (2010), Journal of Endocrinology 206, 121-130.

Read the full article online at DOI:10.1677/JOE-09-0397.