Asthenia

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Symptom/Sign: **Asthenia**
*Classifications and external resources*
ICD-10	R 53.
ICD-9	780.7
MeSH	D001247

Asthenia (Greek: ασθένεια, lit. lack of strength but also disease) is a medical term denoting symptoms of physical weakness and loss of strength.

1 Causes of asthenia
2 Cultural references
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Causes of asthenia

A condition in which the body lacks or has lost strength either as a whole or in any of its parts. General asthenia occurs in many chronic wasting diseases, such as anemia and cancer, and is probably most marked in diseases of the adrenal gland. Asthenia may be limited to certain organs or systems of organs, as in asthenopia, characterized by ready fatiguability. Asthenia is also a side effect of Ritonavir(Protease Inhibitor used in HIV treatment) and fentanyl patches (an opioid used to treat pain). The condition is also commonly seen in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, sleep disorders or chronic disorders of the heart, lungs or kidneys. Differentiating between psychogenic asthenia and true asthenia with muscular weakness is often difficult, and in time apparent psychogenic asthenia accompanying many chronic disorders is seen to progress into a primary weakness.

Common causes of asthenia

Addison's disease
Anemia
Anxiety
Chemotherapy
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic pain
deconditioning/sedentary lifestyle
Dehydration and electrolyte disturbance
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heart disease
Hypothyroidism
Infections
Medications including amiodarone, Anastrazole, and fentanyl
Narcotics
Paraneoplastic syndrome
Pregnancy/postpartum
Pulmonary disease
Renal disease
Sleep disorders

[edit] Cultural references

"The Asthenic Syndrome", a film by Kira Muratova, is about a man or the whole society experiencing symptoms of asthenia.

Blink-182 (album) has a song called "Asthenia", (about an astronaut in a space capsule contemplating whether his return to earth will even make a difference)