Stopping cachexia at its source could reverse wasting from cancer
Blocking an immune protein that helps regulate body weight led mice with cancer to gain muscle
![An illustrated brain is outlined in blue on a black background. An area of the brain stem at the base of the brain is highlighted in orangy-red. This area is a target for a potential treatment aimed at reversing the wasting that comes along with advanced cancer.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/072424_kt_cachexia_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
The area postrema, which lies in the medulla oblongata (highlighted in this illustration) in the brain stem, plays a role in cachexia, a wasting disease that affects an estimated 80 percent of people with advanced cancer.
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