Highlights on Cachexia, from the 4th Cachexia Conference, Tampa (FL), 6-9 Dec 2007

Cachexia is a syndrome associated with many chronic diseases and is an independent risk factor for mortality. Yet it is only in these last years that cachexia has received increasing attention, as the recently instituted international congress on this topic indicates. Here we review some of the most noteworthy contributions presented at the 4th Cachexia Conference in December 2007. Of particular relevance is the fact that an official definition of cachexia was at last formulated. The definition of cachexia, as well as of its diagnostic criteria, will help both the clinical management of and basic research on this complex, multi-factorial syndrome.