Cachexia

• YOKNEAM, Israel, April 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ProFuse Technology expands its scope as a muscle cultivation startup aiming to enhance patient outcomes by improving treatments for muscle associated diseases and muscle regeneration.
• The company has appointed Professor Shulamit Levenberg of the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering to its Scientific Advisory Board, to support its effort towards life science applications.
• She has joined ProFuse Technology's Scientific Advisory Board to bolster the company's effort to develop materials and methodologies for muscle regeneration and maintenance.
• We are thrilled to welcome Professor Levenberg's to our Scientific Advisory Board, in order to bolster our pioneering innovative approaches towards muscle regeneration and maintenance."

• Suppression of pancreatic cancer and increased survival rates in animals implanted with human pancreatic cancer cells when treated with biologic agent BGX, a proprietary targeted therapy developed in-house by BioGate.
• Studies of animals implanted with human pancreatic cancer cells confirm BGX's efficacy in inhibiting tumor growth and antiproliferation in metastasis, while extending survival rates.
• This achievement represents a major global milestone in pancreatic cancer treatment.
• In studies of animals implanted with human cancer cells, BGX successfully inhibited the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer cells and prolonged survival rates.

• Nearly one-third of cancer patients die from a side-effect you’ve likely never heard of: cancer cachexia.
• With cachexia, a patient loses a significant amount of weight due to their disease, with considerable losses of muscle mass.

What exactly is cancer cachexia?

• Cancer cachexia is an unintentional loss of body weight that mainly affects muscle.
• It is diagnosed when a cancer patient loses more than five per cent of their body weight over six months.
• Cancer cachexia is complex, and is likely caused by many factors working together.
• Inflammation from cancer or chemotherapy, reduced appetite and food intake, or even specific interactions between a tumour and muscle could all play a role.

The impact of cachexia on patients

• Cancer cachexia can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life and prognosis.
• Patients with cachexia tend to have lower treatment tolerances than those of healthy body composition.
• Cachexia patients report struggling with body image, loss of independence and becoming a burden to their loved ones.

Treating cachexia

Unfortunately, Canada lacks standardized options for treating patients with cancer cachexia. Research suggests that treating cachexia should use a multi-targeted approach. Nutritional interventions are essential for combating cachexia and should be started as soon as possible with consultation from a registered dietitian.

• Exercise could be a very powerful tool to treat cachexia.
• Studies on pharmacological compounds to treat cachexia have produced varied results, and many are still in early phase clinical trials.

Diagnosing and detecting cachexia

• Perhaps the biggest limitation in treating cachexia is detecting it early enough to intervene.
• Diagnosing cachexia is largely based on weight-related measures.
• Integrating strength assessments as well as body composition scans across all points of the cancer journey could help capture the whole picture of cachexia development and progression.

Where to go from here

• The sooner it is detected, the better chance there is to manage it.
• Management should involve a multi-disciplinary team that can help with diet, exercise and psycho-social aspects of the condition.
• It will likely be years before these reach the clinic, so early interventions with nutrition, exercise and regular monitoring are critical.

Meghan McCue receives funding from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

• REXULTI is not indicated as an as needed (“prn”) treatment for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
• Participants also required a diagnosis that met The International Psychogeriatric Association’s (IPA) provisional definition of agitation in patients with cognitive impairment or dementia.
• “Agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease can be very challenging and emotionally distressing for patients and family members caring for them.
• The trial had high rates of patients completing the trial: 86.8% of the brexpiprazole group and 88.9% of the placebo group.