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Cachexia in malaria and heart failure: therapeutic considerations in clinical practice

¹ Department of Clinical Cardiology, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK
² Dean’s Office, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Meto E Onwuamaegbu
Department of Clinical Cardiology, Royal Brompton Hospital, Sydney Street, London SW3 6NP, UK; drmeto{at}doctors.net.uk

Cachexia is an independent prognostic marker of survival in many chronic diseases including heart failure and malaria. Morbidity and mortality from malaria is high in most of the third world where it presents a very challenging public health problem. Malaria may present in the UK as fever in the returning traveller or as fever in overseas visitors. How and why cachexia develops in malaria in a manner similar to the cachexia of chronic heart failure and the treatment strategies that would alter outcomes in both diseases are discussed in this review.

Abbreviations: CHF, chronic heart failure; GPI, glycosylphosphatidylinositol; HMG CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A; IL, interleukin; MHCI, myosin heavy chain isoform; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; WHO, World Health Organisation

Keywords: chronic disease; malaria; wasting; cachexia; heart failure