Genetic mutation provides clues to battling childhood obesity

A new paper identifies a possible genetic root to the insatiable appetite and slow metabolism of some obese patients. The study, which sequenced 2,101 individuals with severe early-onset obesity, found that patients harboring mutations in a particular gene, KSR2, had an increased appetite and a slower metabolism, suggesting that drugs developed to modulate the activity of the protein encoded by the KSR2 gene could provide new treatment options for obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

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