wasting

1. Gradually deteriorating; declining: the wasting process of erosion.
2. Sapping the strength, energy, or substance of the body; emaciating: a wasting disease.

A process of deterioration marked by weight loss and decreased physical vigor, appetite, and mental activity.

In stonecutting, splitting off the surplus stone with a wedge-shaped chisel (called a point), or with a pick, so that the faces of the stone are reduced to nearly plane surfaces; dabbing.

Used in a general sense to indicate serious loss of body weight, or locally to indicate atrophy.

• w. acetonemia — see acetonemia.
• chronic w. disease (CWD) — a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting both farmed and wild elk and deer in certain states of North America. There is concern that it is currently spreading to infect wild cervid populations in states not previously infected. There is no evidence that it can transmit to humans.
• postweaning multisystem w. syndrome (PMWS) — was first described in 1991 in Western Canada and has since become widespread in North America and Europe. Produces slow progressive wasting in postweaned pigs with usually a low attack rate but high case fatality. Clinical signs and postmortem findings vary with some pigs jaundiced, some with diarrhea, but most with grossly enlarged inguinal lymph nodes. Respiratory signs are often associated with underlying interstitial pneumonia and pulmonary edema. The cause is uncertain, but caused at least in part by porcine circovirus 2 which is isolated from affected pigs usually in association with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Clinical disease is more common in high health herds, but pigs are often infected without showing clinical disease. Cases of porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS) are often seen in herds affected with PMWS. See also porcine dermatitis and neuropathy syndrome.
• w. syndrome — used to describe terminal stages of feline immunodeficiency virus infection; similar to the cachexia associated with neoplasia.

Wasting could also mean inefficient and/or ineffective consumption. See waste.

In medicine, wasting refers to the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to "waste" away. Wasting is sometimes referred to as "acute malnutrition" because it is believed that episodes of wasting have a short duration, in contrast to stunting, which is regarded as chronic malnutrition.

Contents 1 Causes 2 Classification 3 See also 4 External links

Causes

Wasting can be caused by an extremely low energy intake (e.g., caused by famine), nutrient losses due to infection, or a combination of low intake and high loss. Infections and conditions associated with wasting include tuberculosis, chronic diarrhea, AIDS, and Superior mesenteric artery syndrome. The mechanism may involve cachectin - also called tumor necrosis factor, a macrophage-secreted cytokine. Caretakers and health providers can sometimes contribute to wasting if the patient is placed on an improper diet. Voluntary weight loss and eating disorders are excluded as causes of wasting.

Classification

• Children: Weight-for-height (WFH). In infants under 24 months, recumbent (supine) length is used. WFH as % of median reference value is calculated this way:

Cutoff points may vary, but <80% (close to -2 Z-score) is often used.

• Adults:
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) is the quotient between weight and height squared (kg/m²). An individual with a BMI < 18.5 is regarded as a case of wasting.
  • Percent of body weight lost (At Tufts, an unintentional loss of 6% or more in 6 months is regarded as wasting)

See also

• Wasting syndrome
• Atrophy
• Cachexia
• Weight loss
• Anorexia (disambiguation)

External links

• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm
• http://www.tufts.edu/med/nutrition-infection/hiv/health_weight_loss.html
• http://www.annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/abstract/587/1/325
• Scientists find key to "wasting syndrome"

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