ISSN 1662-4009 (online)

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Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology 2023

9. Obesity and Weight Regulation

Advances in Understanding Central Weight Regulation and Behaviour

ey0020.9-5 | Advances in Understanding Central Weight Regulation and Behaviour | ESPEYB20

9.5. A synaptic amplifier of hunger for regaining body weight in the hypothalamus

K Grzelka , H Wilhelms , S Dodt , ML Dreisow , JC Madara , SJ Walker , C Wu , D Wang , BB Lowell , H Fenselau

Brief summary: Grzelka et al. identified a hypothalamic circuit that regulates regain of body weight after weight loss.Body weight is one of the most regulated variables of our body, which is most likely due to the evolutionary history of times when access to food was scarce and volatile. Weight loss triggers a strong counterregulatory response. It increases the hunger drive and greatly increases the reward value of food, making it more difficul...

ey0020.9-6 | Advances in Understanding Central Weight Regulation and Behaviour | ESPEYB20

9.6. Human loss-of-function variants in the serotonin 2C receptor associated with obesity and maladaptive behavior

Y He , B Brouwers , H Liu , K Lawler , EM de Oliveira , DK Lee , Y Yang , AR Cox , JM Keogh , E Henning , R Bounds , A Perdikari , V Ayinampudi , C Wang , M Yu , L Tu , N Zhang , N Yin , J Han , NA Scarcelli , Z Yan , KM Conde , C Potts , JC Bean , M Wang , SM Hartig , L Liao , J Xu , I Barroso , J Mokrosinski , Y Xu , IS Farooqi

Brief summary: This collaborative study identified 13 monoallelic rare loss-of-function (LoF) variants in the serotonin 2C receptor (HTR2C) gene in 19 unrelated individuals with hyperphagia, severe early-onset obesity, and some degree of maladaptive behaviour. The authors used exome sequencing in 2548 individuals with severe obesity and 1117 control individuals without obesity. They found that HTR2C variants cause monogenic obesity by demonstrating t...