Obesity Yields Some Genetic Secrets

Researchers have identified two UK children who have a geneticmutation equivalent to that seen in the ob/ob mouse. The two children have low levels of leptin, in contrast to many obese people who have normal or elevated levels of the ob gene product. Meantime, a group of US researchers has identified a second mutation, in the gene for prohormone convertase-1, which is involved in the production of many metabolic hormones. Reported in Nature and Nature Genetics respectively, these are the first reported instances of a genetic basis for human obesity.