News

Variations in the gene CADM2 may affect both psychological traits and body mass index (BMI), suggesting a genetic link between the two — however, this one gene likely doesn’t affect these characteristics through the same mechanisms, a new study suggests. The study, “Genetic variation in CADM2 as…

Children carrying a genetic variant of the FTO gene are prone to eat more calories, with each copy of the variant resulting in approximately 65 more calories being ingested at each meal, a new study shows. These findings suggest genetic factors affect eating behavior and food preferences in children, which may help…

The first randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a potential treatment for obese individuals without metabolic disorders did not produce weight loss in treated participants, but it did show encouraging results. The latest findings were discussed at…

RaDaR, the catchy new name for the U.S. government-run Rare Diseases Registry Program, aims to help patient advocacy groups with limited resources build their own disease registries. The site was developed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a division of the National Institutes of…

Children with early-onset obesity have a higher burden of rare genetic variants involved in obesity than controls, suggesting that genomic analysis may improve individualized follow-ups and genetic counseling to families. The study, “Heterozygous rare genetic variants in non-syndromic early-onset obesity,” was published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Celastrol, a natural compound used in traditional Chinese medicine, has shown potential for reducing food intake and body weight in genetic obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) deficiency, but its side effects warrant more investigation, according to…

A large population study found that some people carry genetic variants of the MC4R gene that seem to protect them from obesity, pointing out a signaling pathway possible to harness for creating new weight loss therapies. Those variants also…

With 250 rare diseases newly identified every year, scientists can barely keep up — even as the healthcare system fails millions of Americans whose rare diseases have already been diagnosed. That’s the warning from Christopher P. Austin, MD, director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Studies (NCATS) at…

A protein known as the steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) helps regulate body weight by controlling the function of neurons involved in eating impulses, a study reveals. The study, “Steroid receptor coactivator-1 modulates the function of Pomc neurons and energy homeostasis,” was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers have created a tool — a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) — to predict a person’s genetic susceptibility to excess weight and obesity from early life into adulthood. This predictive tool could offer new opportunities to improve clinical prevention and provide new insights on the underlying…